SHATTERED
by smile1
Summary: R/J!!! *DONE* Future fic. Jess sees Rory again in a club in New York, but only to find out that she changed too much for her own good and that she has a lot of problems. Will Jess be able to help her and safe her from Aaron ? PLZ REVIEW! ENJOY! :-)
1. Changed

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: HEY!!! I'm back with a NEW story. I know I said that I would finish the other stories first, but I couldn't wait any longer. I just had to write the first chapter. It might take a while before I put up the next chapter, because I really wanna finish the other two first. But I wanted to give you guys a taste of what's to come. So please READ AND REVIEW!!! I want some reviews before I continue with this story, because I wanna know if this story has potential and if you guys like the idea. Please tell me. It's a future fic and I have never written one before, so I hope you guys like it. O yeah it's also a little darker than my other fics and the characters might be different than the ones from the show. Not a lot of course, but only in the way they behave.  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Jess took a sip of his drink and looked around the club. He checked his watch. Only ten o'clock and already the place was crowded. There were people everywhere, at the bar, on the dance floor and sitting at the tables. There were even more people standing outside, waiting in line to get in. Luckily for him he got here early. This was his favorite club in New York. The music was great and no one he knew ever came here. He took another sip of his drink and looked in the direction of the dance floor. A tall blonde caught his eye. He let his eyes wander all over her body and smiled. Not bad, not bad at all. But he knew that he wasn't going to step up to her, she wasn't worth it. She was like almost all the girls that came here. They came, danced and flirted and left with some guy that they just met. Jess saw it happen every night. Of course there were a few exceptions, but they never seemed to like him. He finished his drink and ordered another. He waited for the bartender to give him another drink and took a sip. He looked at the dance floor again. The blond was gone. He started to look in the direction of the tables. His eye fell on one table in particular. There was a girl sitting at the table and she was.........well damn beautiful. It was a while ago since he saw a girl as beautiful as her around here. He couldn't take his eyes of of her. She seemed familiar somehow. He was just about to look away and forget about her, when she turned her head. He was able to see her face now. When he saw who it was he almost dropped his drink. It couldn't be, but............it was. It was Rory. What was she doing in a place like this ? What was she doing in New York ? He observed her. She almost looked the same as she did back in Stars Hollow. Her hair was longer, but it looked good on her. But the thing he was shocked about were her clothes and make-up. She was wearing too much make-up and..........well not enough clothes. He knew that somewhere underneath all that make-up was a sweet and.........well he was going to say innocent girl, but he wasn't sure if that was the case anymore. He looked at her clothes. She was wearing a pair of black leather pants and a tight, blue shirt that was torn at her stomach. He never expected her to wear clothes like that, but here she was wearing them. She did look good in them. He let his eyes wander from her bare stomach to her legs and back. She looked like a............ Well she didn't look like one of the exceptions anyway. He felt guilty for thinking of her like that. Rory wasn't like those girls. So she changed, was that such a crime ? When she looked up they locked eyes. Suddenly he remembered what he liked so much about her. Her eyes............  
  
Rory quickly looked away. It couldn't be.......Jess, right ? She glanced at him, avoiding his eyes. It was him all right. She knew that he lived in New York, but she never expected to run in to him, not here anyway. Rory sighed. They hadn't talked in ages. He left Stars Hollow six years ago without telling her and now here he was. She had to talk to him, if only for a minute. She gently pushed Aaron away from her.  
  
R: ''I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want anything ?''  
  
A: ''Nope.''  
  
He started to kiss her neck and went lower and lower until he reached her shirt.  
  
R: ''Aaron.....''  
  
Aaron stopped kissing her and sighed.  
  
A: ''Okay, bring me back a beer.''  
  
Rory got up and wanted to head for the bar, but Aaron pulled her back and kissed her hard on the lips. He looked into her eyes and let her go.  
  
A: ''Don't be long.''  
  
He lit a cigarette and started to talk to one of his friends.  
  
Rory turned around and headed for the bar. She looked at her feet the entire time. When she reached the bar she sat down on a stool, pretending that she didn't know that Jess was sitting right next to her. She signaled for the bartender to come over.  
  
R: ''Hey, a beer and a soda please.''  
  
The bartender nodded and gave her what was supposed to be a charming smile. Rory ignored him and glanced at Jess. Suddenly he turned his head and met her gaze.  
  
J: ''Hey.''  
  
Rory turned her eyes away from him and wondered if it was a good idea to be talking to him ?  
  
When Rory didn't say anything, he was afraid that she didn't recognize him. When she finally said something to him, he let out a sigh of relief.  
  
R: ''Hey Jess.''  
  
She gave him a warm smile. It was good to say his name again.  
  
J: ''So you come here often ?''  
  
Rory laughed softly and nodded.  
  
R: ''Yeah. What about you ? I mean I knew you lived in New York, but I never.......''  
  
J: ''Expected to see me here ?''  
  
R: ''Well.......yeah.''  
  
J: ''I was thinking the same about you.''  
  
As soon as he said that Rory's smile disappeared and she got a sad look in her eyes.  
  
R: ''I know.''  
  
Jess looked at her. Did he say something wrong ? While he was looking at her, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander to the skin of her bare back. She did look good.  
  
Roy bend her head a little so that her hair fell in front of her face and hid it from Jess. She knew that he was looking at her. And she was used to hit, but not from him. It felt different when he was looking at her like that. She felt ashamed and embarrassed.  
  
J: ''How are things with you ?''  
  
R: ''Different.''  
  
Rory felt like laughing, if he only knew.  
  
J: ''Excuse me ?''  
  
Rory turned her head and looked at Jess. She didn't look him straight in the eyes, but she looked at his chest. She was avoiding his eyes, cause if he looked into her eyes, he would know. He would know that something was wrong.  
  
R: ''I'm fine.''  
  
J: ''Really ?''  
  
He gently grabbed her face and forced her to look into his eyes. Rory did, just for a minute. She almost immediately pulled free and looked away. She was happy when the bartender put the drinks that she ordered down in front of her. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with Jess, but he always seemed to know when she was lying to him. Rory paid for the drinks and got up.  
  
R: ''So, I'll guess I'll see you around.''  
  
J: ''Guess so.''  
  
Rory grabbed the drinks and locked eyes with him. The moment their eyes met she wanted to tell him everything. But she couldn't. Her problems were hers alone and besides she didn't think that anyone could help her. And maybe she didn't want the help. She was doing fine now. She went out almost every night with Aaron, Lane and Lane's boyfriend. They would go to clubs and party all night. That way Rory would forget about her worries and troubles. She didn't wanna think about them, she didn't wanna think about anything for that matter.  
  
R: ''It was great, seeing you again.''  
  
J: ''Yeah, same here.''  
  
Rory nodded and gave him a fake smile before she walked away. As if she was assuring him that everything was fine, but he knew that something was bothering her. Normally her eyes were sparkling and filled with life, but tonight they weren't. Jess followed her with his eyes.  
  
Rory handed Aaron his beer and looked back at Jess, who was still looking at her. Aaron took a sip of his beer and pulled Rory down onto his lap.  
  
A: ''Everything okay ?''  
  
Rory looked at him and nodded.  
  
R: ''Now everything is.''  
  
She gave Aaron a playful look and licked her lips.  
  
A: ''You're a tease you know.''  
  
He cupped her face with his hands and started to kiss her. Even tough Rory was smiling, she was crying inside. She was only kissing Aaron, because it made her forget about everything. She didn't feel anything for him. Aaron broke the kiss and started to kiss her neck again. Rory giggled and forgot, but she didn't forget about Jess though.  
  
Jess looked away when Rory started to make out with some guy. It made him feel sick to his stomach. When he heard her giggle he couldn't bear to see her like this anymore. He took one last sip from his drink and paid for it. He looked at Rory one more time. She and the guy that she was kissing before, were on their way to the dance floor. He locked eyes with Rory one more time. As soon as they started to dance he looked away. He didn't wanna see this. He shook his head and left the club.  
  
When Rory saw Jess leave she wanted to go after him, but of course she didn't. 


	2. Broken

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: HEY!!! I'm so happy :-) that I got such AMAZING reviews on the first chapter!!! I have never written a story like this before, so I kind of was surprised. And I didn't know if I could actually write this story and put everything down in words. So I'm real thankful for all the reviews. Anyway I hope everyone likes this chapter. REVIEW and LET ME KNOW!!! I would really apreciate it and I get so happy :-) when I see the reviews. Every one counts. THANKS!!!  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Rory gave Aaron one last kiss and pulled away.  
  
R: ''Thanks for taking me home.''  
  
A: ''Aren't you going to invite me in ?''  
  
He looked at her with a teasing look in his eyes and a grin on his face.  
  
R: ''Some other time.''  
  
Rory started to open the door, but when she wanted to get out Aaron stopped her. He pulled her back and started to kiss her hard on the lips. He forced Rory to open her mouth so that he could deepen the kiss. Rory started to run her hands through his hair and leaned back so that Aaron was practically on top of her. Finally Rory broke the kiss so that she could catch her breath.  
  
A: ''Are you sure ?''  
  
Rory met his eyes and nodded.  
  
R: ''Yeah.''  
  
A: ''Suit yourself.''  
  
He sat up straight again and waited for her to get out. Rory knew that he was mad at her for not inviting him in. But she wasn't ready yet and she wasn't sure if she wanted it to be with him. He was there when she needed to get her mind of of things and he made her forget and she was thankful for that, but nothing more. As soon as she thought that she started to feel guilty. She was using him. She looked at Aaron and as soon as she did the guilt slowly started to fade away. It was not as if he never used a girl before. He had probably done it a million times before to some innocent girl that didn't have a clue of what she was getting into. So really she was doing nothing wrong. She was only doing to him what he had done to so many girls.  
  
R: ''Are you mad at me ?''  
  
She almost whispered it. She hated it when people were mad at her.  
  
A: ''You're a tease you know.''  
  
He looked at her for a moment before he turned his eyes away again. Rory knew that he was right. She was a tease. She was always flirting with him, but she would never allow him to go any further than kissing. She guessed that she probably was afraid.  
  
R: ''Yeah, I know. But that's what you like about me.''  
  
He looked at her. His expression was unreadable. Rory tilted her head a little so that her hair covered one part of her face and gave him a sweet smile. A smile appeared on Aaron's face and he wiped her hair away from her face.  
  
A: ''If only you weren't so damn beautiful and...............''  
  
R: ''And what ?''  
  
A: ''Innocent.''  
  
For a moment Rory thought that Aaron's expression changed. But when she looked again it was gone. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn that his expression changed. He had gotten this weird look in his eyes and almost a devilish grin on his face. And something about his eyes and grin scared her.  
  
R: ''I'm innocent ?''  
  
Aaron laughed softly and brought his head closer to hers.  
  
A: ''You're beautiful, innocent and sweet.''  
  
He kissed her on her lips.  
  
A: ''And you taste sweet too.''  
  
R: ''Really ?''  
  
Aaron nodded.  
  
A: ''You taste like strawberries.''  
  
Aaron kept looking at her and it started to make her nervous. She looked away and got out of his car. She turned around and closed the door.  
  
R: ''So I'll see you tomorrow ?''  
  
A: ''Yeah, I'll pick up Jared first and then I'll come by your place to pick you and Lane up.''  
  
R: ''Thanks.''  
  
A: ''No problem. Sweet dreams.''  
  
R: ''Night Aaron.''  
  
Aaron honked the horn and drove off. Rory sighed and turned around to go inside. While she walked to the door she wrapped her arms around herself. At the door of the building she stopped. It was a glass door and even tough it was dark, she could see her reflection in the glass. She removed her arms and looked at herself. Aaron had called her innocent, but by the way she looked she wasn't anymore. She was all grown up and she should be proud of herself. Rory sighed and wiped away a tear. Yeah, she should be real proud of herself. She pushed the door open and quickly walked up the stairs to the apartment that she shared with Lane. As soon as she came in to the apartment she could hear sobbing. Rory quitely closed the door behind her and went into the little living room. She found a sobbing Lane sitting curled up on the couch.  
  
R: ''Hey. What's wrong ?''  
  
She walked over to the couch and sat down next to her best friend.  
  
Lane: ''I didn't get it.''  
  
As soon as Rory heard those words she started to feel hopeless and sad. She looked at Lane and felt like crying too. But she knew that she had to be strong......for Lane's sake. Rory put her arm around Lane and hugged her.  
  
R: ''It's okay.''  
  
Lane looked up at Rory and shook her head.  
  
Lane: ''No it isn't. We needed that job. I mean how are we going to keep paying for this place if we don't have the money ?''  
  
R: ''Don't worry about it. We're still okay for the next month.''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah, but what about the month after that ?''  
  
Rory saw the defeated look in Lane's eyes. She didn't know how to answer that. She knew that at least one of them had to get a job if they wanted to stay here. Rory sighed. She started to feel defeated too. When she heard that Lane had gotten a job interview she was so happy. Finally they would be able to live there life again without having to deal about money problems, but the happiness was gone now. It was replaced by sadness. Rory would go out and find a job......if she could. But she couldn't. Her last boss was a jerk and ruined all her chances for her at the other newspapers. She could feel the last bit of hope slip away. Things were only getting worse. She could run from her problems for a while, but she was never able to find a good enough hiding place. Her problems always found her, no matter how far she ran or where she hid.  
  
R: We'll figure something out.''  
  
She gave Lane a weak smile and hugged her again. They sat there for a while thinking about everything. Rory was thinking of a solution, but she couldn't find one. She needed help to find one, but there was no one around to help her. After a while Lane stopped sobbing. Rory pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind and looked at Lane.  
  
R: ''Are you okay ?''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah, I'm fine. Things were just getting too much.''  
  
Rory nodded. She knew exactly what she meant. It was as if her problems were suffocating her. And she knew that she had to solve them, but what she really wanted was to just forget them. Maybe if she closed her eyes they would go away, but they never did. It didn't work that way.  
  
R: ''Are you sure ?''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah. I'm going to make something to eat. Do you want anything ?''  
  
Rory shook her head and got up.  
  
R: ''No, I'm tired. I think I'm just going to bed.''  
  
Lane: ''Okay.''  
  
R: ''Night Lane.''  
  
Rory slowly started to walk to her room, while thoughts kept running through her head. When she closed the door behind her a tear slid down her cheek. She sat down on her bed and curled her knees up. Her life had fallen apart in a million pieces. And she needed someone to help her fix it, because she wasn't sure if she could do it on her own. She buried her face in her arms and started to cry. She felt broken.......... 


	3. Thirsty

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: HEY!!! Sorry it took so long, but here's chapter 3. It's kind of long, but nobody minds right ? O and I really wanna thank everyone for the reviews!!! I really enjoyed reading them :-) So I hope that you guys will review this chapter too!!!  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Lane walked over to the window when she heard a car honk. As soon as she saw the car she turned around and grabbed her jacket.  
  
Lane: ''They're here !''  
  
Rory came into the room and quickly put on her jacket.  
  
R: ''Are you ready ?''  
  
Lane: ''Do you even have to ask ?''  
  
Rory rolled her eyes and followed Lane to the door. When she past the mirror she stopped and looked at herself. She knew that Aaron would like her clothes, he always did. She ran her hand over her leather skirt and tried to smile, but failed to. She was getting sick of pretending that nothing was wrong and that her life was perfect. Her life was far from perfect. And she hated lying to her mom. Every time her mom asked how she was doing, Rory told her that everything was okay. She felt bad about it, but she was too ashamed to ask her mom for help. The only thing she had left was pride and she wasn't going to give that up.  
  
Lane: ''Are you okay ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah..........I was just thinking.''  
  
Lane: ''Well don't. We're going to forget about everything tonight and have fun.''  
  
Rory sighed. Ever since Lane didn't get the job she was like this. Even tough she had a smile on her face, Rory knew that their problems were slowly eating her up inside, depriving her of the little hope that was left. Rory knew, because she was going through the same thing.  
  
R: ''Yeah, you're right.''  
  
Lane: ''Of course I'm right. Now let's go.''  
  
Lane opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Rory looked at herself in the mirror one more time.  
  
Lane: ''Are you coming ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah.''  
  
She joined Lane and shut the door behind her. She was going to have fun tonight. Yeah fun..........  
  
When they reached the car she forced herself to smile at the two guys that were waiting in the car for them. As soon as she got in the car, Aaron pulled her closer and started to kiss her. Rory kissed him back and ran her hands through his hair. He was good at making her forget. She pulled away and smiled at him. But not good enough.  
  
A: ''Ready ?''  
  
Lane didn't answer, cause she was too busy making out with Jared.  
  
A: ''I guess that's a yes.''  
  
Rory nodded and looked out of the window as they drove of.  
  
They had no trouble getting in to the club. Aaron and Jared knew some people here. Rory looked around the place. She was looking for him. But why would he be here ? For all she knew he went to a different club every night. And why was it so important for her to see him again ? She stopped looking and followed Aaron to the bar. Lane and Jared were already sitting at the bar.  
  
Jared: ''Anybody want a drink ? I'm paying.''  
  
A: ''I'll have a beer.''  
  
Jared: ''What about you ladies ?''  
  
Lane: ''I'll have a beer too.''  
  
Rory gave Lane a look, but she just ignored it and looked away.  
  
R: ''I'll just have a coke please.''  
  
Jared ordered the drinks and moments later they were all holding a beer in their hands, except for Rory of course. Rory took a sip from her coke and bopped her head to the music.  
  
A: ''You wanna dance ?''  
  
He grabbed her hand and started to pull her in the direction of the dance floor, before she could answer. Rory started to move her body to the music and got lost in it. This was the best part of going to a club, the dancing. She looked over at the spot where Lane and Jared were dancing. Lane seemed to be having fun. Rory closed her eyes and took in the music. She could dance forever. When she opened her eyes again. Lane and Jared were gone. Rory didn't pay much attention to it, they were probably at the bar or something. Suddenly a slow song came on. She looked at Aaron. He smiled at her and moved closer. He placed his hands on her hips and she put her arms around his neck. While they were dancing Aaron started to kiss her in her neck. Rory rested her head on his shoulder and looked at the other couples on the dance floor. She and Aaron weren't any different than those couples, but she knew that they really were. They didn't really love each other, they weren't even in love. At least she wasn't. Suddenly the name of her first boyfriend came to her mind. Dean......now him she really loved. Too bad that she started to fall in love with Jess too. When she thought about it now it sounded funny. She loved Dean, but she was in love with Jess. But that was then and now..........she wasn't in love with anyone. Sure when she saw Jess again the feelings that she used to have for him came back, but that was just because she hadn't seen him in a long time. Suddenly she had this weird feeling that someone was watching her. She looked around and gasped when she saw him standing there. He was staring directly at her. Rory looked back, but had to look away after a while. She couldn't take it. He had this weird control over her, that made her wanna tell him about everything.  
  
Jess narrowed his eyes when she saw her dancing with the same guy as a couple of days ago. It hurt him more than he ever could imagine. He looked away and went over to the bar. He really needed a drink.  
  
When the song ended Rory pulled away from Aaron and looked at the bar. He was sitting there.  
  
A: ''That was some dance.''  
  
Rory looked at Aaron again.  
  
R: ''Yeah.''  
  
Aaron leaned in and kissed her. Rory parted her lips to deepen the kiss without really thinking about it. Aaron pulled her closer and put one hand on her hip. He placed his other hand on her stomach and slowly brought his hand up. Rory quickly broke the kiss and took a step back.  
  
A: ''What's wrong ?''  
  
R: ''Nothing, I'm just thirsty.''  
  
A: ''Me too.''  
  
Aaron licked his lips and leaned in to kiss her again. Rory gently pushed him away.  
  
R: ''Let's get something to drink then.''  
  
She turned around and started to head for the bar. Aaron sighed and followed her. Rory sat down at the bar and took a deep breath. Aaron joined her and ordered two beers. Rory didn't really want a beer, but she didn't say anything about it.  
  
J: ''Hey.''  
  
Rory looked up and smiled when she heard Jess' voice.  
  
R: ''Hey.''  
  
J: ''Didn't expect to see you here again.''  
  
Before Rory could say anything Aaron interrupted.  
  
A: ''Who's that ?''  
  
Rory bit her lip and looked from Jess to Aaron and back again.  
  
J: ''I'm Jess.''  
  
A: ''Jess huh ?''  
  
Aaron looked at him suspiciously.  
  
J: ''Yeah, who are you ?''  
  
A: ''I'm Aaron, her boyfriend.''  
  
J: ''Her boyfriend huh ?''  
  
He tried to meet Rory's eyes, but she quickly looked away and looked at her hands.  
  
A: ''Yeah. So how do you and Rory know each other ?''  
  
Jess took a sip of his drink before he answered.  
  
J: ''We're old friends.''  
  
A: ''Really ? How come she never told me about you ?''  
  
Jess shrugged.  
  
J: ''Beats me.''  
  
Rory could hear the jealous tone in Aaron's voice. She wiped a strand of hair away from her face and looked at Aaron.  
  
R: ''I never told you, because I never expected to see him again.''  
  
A: ''So he just happens to be here at the same time as you ?''  
  
R: ''It's a club Aaron.''  
  
She gave him a sweet smile.  
  
A: ''Guess you're right. Nice to meet you man.''  
  
J: ''Same here.''  
  
Jared: ''Yo Aaron !''  
  
Aaron gave Jess one last look and turned around. Jared made his way toward them. He had a worried look on his face.  
  
Jared: ''We've gotta split.''  
  
A: ''Why ?''  
  
Jared: ''Business  
  
Aaron met Jared's eyes and nodded. He looked at Rory.  
  
A: ''Listen we've gotta go.''  
  
Rory nodded.  
  
A: ''I'm real sorry.''  
  
She wondered what kind of business he meant ?  
  
R: ''It's okay, I'll see you later.''  
  
A: ''Yes you will.''  
  
He kissed her and got up.  
  
A: ''Thanks for being so understanding. I'll make it up to you, I promise.''  
  
He winked at her and left. Rory felt disgusted. He would make it up to her. He always made comments like this. They always had a double meaning. She shook her head and looked at the beer in front of her. She pushed the glasses away from her and sighed.  
  
J: ''Not thirsty ?''  
  
R: ''Nope.''  
  
J: ''Too bad they don't have coffee here.''  
  
A small smile appeared on Rory's face.  
  
R: ''Yeah, too bad.''  
  
J: ''So that was your boyfriend ?''  
  
She locked eyes with him.  
  
R: ''Jess..........''  
  
J: ''Hey it's your boyfriend.''  
  
She looked at him as he took a sip from his drink. His expression was unreadable as usual.  
  
Lane: ''Can I have another beer mister bartender ?''  
  
Rory immediately turned her head when she heard Lane's voice. She was standing at the bar with an empty glass in her hands smiling flirtatious at the bartender. The bartender refilled her glass without even looking at Lane and continued talking to another customer.  
  
Lane: ''Thank you mister bartender man.''  
  
She took a sip from her beer and looked around. When she saw Rory she came her way.  
  
Lane: ''Hey Rory, you want a sip ?''  
  
R: ''No and neither should you.''  
  
Rory tried to grab Lane's glass, but she just laughed and held the glass above her head.  
  
R: ''Lane, just give me the beer.''  
  
Lane: ''No, get your own.''  
  
She took another sip of her beer.  
  
Lane: ''Where are the guys ?''  
  
R: ''They left.''  
  
Lane: ''They left us ?''  
  
She got a sad look on her face and dropped her glass.  
  
R: ''That's it we're going home.''  
  
Lane: ''I don't wanna go home, I wanna stay here and partyyyyyyyy !''  
  
Rory ignored Lane and took her by the arm.  
  
R: ''You're drunk.''  
  
Lane: ''No I'm not.''  
  
R: ''Yes you are.''  
  
Lane: ''I am ?''  
  
Rory nodded and started to lead Lane to the exit. Outside Lane collapsed on the floor.  
  
R: ''O Lane how did we get here ?''  
  
She got down on her knees in front of her.  
  
Lane: ''Aaron drove us.''  
  
Rory nodded and smiled a sadly.  
  
R: ''Yes he did.''  
  
Lane tried to get up, but she fell to the ground again.  
  
R: ''You can't walk home like this.''  
  
Lane started to laugh and pointed at something. Rory looked at Lane, but had to turn her head away. She didn't want to see Lane like this. This was the first time she had gotten drunk in her entire life. And even tough Rory knew that it wasn't her fault, she still felt responsible.  
  
J: ''Do you need a ride ?''  
  
Rory didn't look up. She knew that it was Jess, but she just couldn't look him in the eyes right now. She didn't want him to see her like this. Rory sighed. She had to face it. She lost control over her own life and she brought Lane down with her.  
  
R: ''Yeah.''  
  
She looked at Lane again and took her hands in hers.  
  
R: ''Lane, we're going home now okay ?''  
  
Lane nodded. Rory got up and helped Lane up. After she and Jess helped Lane in to the car, they got in too and drove away from the club. Rory turned around every now and then to check on Lane. But after a while Lane fell asleep and Rory relaxed a little.  
  
J: ''Does she do this often ?''  
  
R: ''What ?''  
  
J: ''Get drunk.''  
  
R: ''No, this is the first time.''  
  
Rory looked at Lane again and had to fight to keep from crying. Jess saw this, but didn't say a thing. When they reached the apartment, Jess helped Lane upstairs. Rory quickly opened the door so that Jess could take Lane inside. Rory made Lane some coffee and forced her to drink it. After she did, Lane started to act like Lane again and Rory was relieved. She didn't like to see Lane drunk and she was hoping that she would never have to see her like that again.  
  
Lane: ''Ror, where are we ?''  
  
R: ''Home.''  
  
Lane: ''What happened ?''  
  
R: ''You.......well you got drunk.''  
  
Lane: ''O my god, I did ?''  
  
Rory nodded and looked at Lane.  
  
Lane: ''Sorry.''  
  
Rory smiled.  
  
R: ''Everything turned out okay, didn't it ?''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah. How did we get home anyway ?''  
  
Rory looked at Jess and smiled at him.  
  
R: ''Jess gave us a ride.''  
  
Lane sat up straight and looked at Rory with disbelief.  
  
Lane: ''Jess ?!''  
  
Rory nodded and Jess joined them. Lane shook her head and looked from Rory to Jess and back again.  
  
Lane: ''I'm dreaming, right ?''  
  
R: ''Nope, he's real.''  
  
Lane looked at Jess.  
  
Lane: ''Thanks.''  
  
She got up and grabbed her head.  
  
R: ''Are you okay ?''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah, I'm going to bed.''  
  
R: ''That's probably a good idea.''  
  
Lane: ''See you're not the only one who's smart.''  
  
J: ''Yeah, I'm here too.''  
  
Lane rolled her eyes.  
  
Lane: ''You still think a lot of yourself diner boy.''  
  
Lane disappeared into her room and Rory laughed softly.  
  
J: ''She still calls me that ?''  
  
R: ''Yep.''  
  
J: ''Well I'm glad to see that you guys haven't forgotten about me.''  
  
Rory met Jess' eyes and got up.  
  
R: ''I never did Jess.''  
  
J: ''Good to know.''  
  
He looked at her intensely and smirked. Rory shook her head. He hadn't changed one bit. He was still the same Jess who left her behind in Stars Hollow. Well actually he didn't leave her, but it sure felt like that.  
  
R: ''So do you want something to drink ?''  
  
J: ''No it's late, I should probably go home.''  
  
R: ''Yeah probably.''  
  
Jess smiled and followed her to the door. Rory opened the door to let him out.  
  
J: ''Nice apartment.''  
  
R: ''Thanks, it's nothing fancy, but it's.......ours........for now anyway.''  
  
J: ''What ?''  
  
Rory looked up at him with shock in her eyes. She couldn't believe she just said that.  
  
R: ''Eh.......nothing. It's late.''  
  
J: ''Yeah, but seriously you didn't do so bad for yourself. If only people at Stars Hollow could see you now.''  
  
R: ''Yeah, if they could only see me now.''  
  
She turned her eyes away from him. Jess reached out his hand to touch her, but he didn't get the chance to. Lane came back in to the room, tears running down her face.  
  
R: ''Lane, what's wrong ?''  
  
She turned around and walked over to Lane. Lane didn't say a thing and just hugged Rory. The two girls fell to the floor. Rory put her arms around Lane while she kept asking what was wrong. Finally Lane answered.  
  
Lane: ''I hate this.''  
  
Rory knew exactly what she was talking about and hugged her even tighter.  
  
Jess looked at them. They looked so sad. He wanted to know what was going on, but now wasn't the time to ask. So instead he softly closed the door behind him and left. 


	4. Confused

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey!!! Sorry it took so long before I updated, but I was busy updating my other stories. I'll try to update this story as soon as I can, but I'll update the other ones first, I think. Hope you like this chapter. But if won't know unless you review, so please do. Thanks and I also wanna thank you guys for the reviews I got on the last chapter.  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Rory softly closed the door behind her. Lane was still sleeping and she didn't wanna disturb her. After what happened last night she really needed it. Rory went down the stairs and stepped outside. It was a beautiful day and she decided to go for a walk. She had to think about things and she always did think better outside than she did inside. Rory started to walk in the direction of her favorite bookstore. Books could always cheer her up no matter how sad or lost she felt. When she entered the bookstore she already forgot about last night. She said hello to the woman who owned the store and immediately got lost in all the rows of books. She skipped the first couple of rows and kept walking. She knew exactly where she was going. When she reached the right row she smiled. She ran her hands over the books and stopped when she reached the book that she was looking for. She grabbed the book and sat down on the floor. No one ever came in this row, the books were second-hand and they had lost their real value. But Rory didn't care about the value of the books in money. What was in the book was much more important to her. She opened the book and started to read. She was so caught up in the book that she didn't see or hear the other person that came into the row. She didn't notice that the person was watching her with a smile. Rory turned the page and started to read the next one.  
  
Jess shoved his hands in his pockets and just watched her. He didn't want to disturb her. She looked so happy as if she was in her own world. He smiled. This was the Rory he used to know. This was the Rory that he left behind in Stars Hollow a couple of years ago. He fell in love with her because of her passion for reading. Every time he saw her she was reading or talking about the books that she had read. The second thing that he loved about her was her sweet personality. No one was nicer than Rory. There wasn't a single bad bone in her body. And the third thing he loved about her were her eyes. They were so beautiful. And her eyes were the ones that gave her away. If it wasn't for her eyes he would have never know that something was wrong with her. She lied to him and he pretended that he believed it. He wondered why she lied to him ? Him of all people. He thought that she trusted him, that she could tell him everything. Rory wasn't the kind of person that lied just for the fun of it. So she had to have a reason for lying to him. And after last night he was even more convinced that something was wrong with her. Jess looked at Rory and smiled when he saw how caught up she was in the book. He hated to destroy her little fantasy, but he had too. Maybe he could help her with whatever she was dealing with ? If she wanted his help that was. He cleared his throat. He saw Rory's body jerk in surprise. And then suddenly he was looking into a pair of blue eyes. The look on her face changed when she saw him. Jess wasn't sure if she was happy to see him or not.  
  
Rory met Jess' eyes and started to panic. What was he doing here ? Did he know that something was wrong with her ? Did Lane tell him ? But when she looked at Jess again she knew that he didn't know anything. He might suspect something, but he didn't know. She saw the worried look in his eyes. He seemed to be worried a lot lately and it wouldn't surprise her if he was worrying about her.  
  
J: ''Hey.''  
  
R: ''Hey.''  
  
She looked down at her book and wondered what she was supposed to do know ? Should she keep on reading and ignore him or should she pretend that everything was okay and talk to him about all the things that weren't important ?  
  
J: ''Coffee ?''  
  
Rory looked up at him and gave him a warm smile. That was the perfect thing to say. He just wanted to have coffee with her. She could handle that. All they had to do was avoid..........well her life actually. Rory hesitated before she answered.  
  
R: ''Yes please.''  
  
Rory closed the book. Jess helped her up and watched her as she carefully placed the book back on the shelf. He took a step aside so that she could pass him and then he followed her to the door. Rory said goodbye to the lady behind the counter and stepped outside.  
  
R: ''What were you doing there anyway ?''  
  
J: ''Well I do read every now and then.''  
  
R: ''I know, but hardly anybody comes in that section.''  
  
J: ''Well I guess people prefer new books instead of old used ones.''  
  
R: ''But it doesn't matter how they look, it's what on the inside that counts.''  
  
J: ''I agree.''  
  
R: ''Thanks.''  
  
J: ''For what ? Agreeing with you ?''  
  
R: ''Well yeah and for being around.''  
  
J: ''Around ? You're making me sound like a stalker.''  
  
R: ''Aren't you ?''  
  
J: ''A stalker ?''  
  
R: ''No. I mean around.''  
  
J: ''Around as a stalker or just around ?''  
  
R: ''Jess.''  
  
J: ''What ? You're the one who's making me all confused here.''  
  
R: ''Forget it.''  
  
J: ''No I'm sorry.''  
  
R: ''For what ?''  
  
J: ''Even more confused now.''  
  
Rory laughed.  
  
R: ''Sorry.''  
  
J: ''Don't worry about it.''  
  
They walked in silence for a moment.  
  
R: ''You do know what I mean, right ?''  
  
J: ''What are you talking about ?''  
  
R: ''Jess.''  
  
J: ''Yes, I know what you mean.''  
  
He met Rory's eyes for a moment. But they were interrupted by a guy who handed them each a folder. Rory looked at the folder in her hand and read the words carefully. It was about a party that some guy was throwing and apparently everyone who could come was invited.  
  
J: ''Are you going ?''  
  
Rory shrugged and stuffed the folder in the back pocket of her jeans.  
  
R: ''Maybe.''  
  
The reached the diner and Jess pushed the door open. He waited for Rory to go in before he let go of the door.  
  
R: ''Thank you.''  
  
J: ''No problem. Where do you wanna sit ?''  
  
Rory looked around the diner and spotted an empty table by the window.  
  
R: ''There.''  
  
She pointed at the table.  
  
J: ''Fine by me.''  
  
Rory started to head to the table and Jess slowly followed her. His eyes never left Rory. They sat down and moments later a girl came over to take their order. They ordered coffee and the girl left. Rory looked out of the window. It was funny to look at people while you were sitting behind glass. It was as if everyone outside was locked up in a world that Rory wasn't part of. Or so it seemed.  
  
J: ''So I see that you dress differently during the day.''  
  
R: ''Huh ?''  
  
Jess pointed at the outfit that she wearing. A pair of jeans, a sweater and a pair of sneakers.  
  
R: ''O yeah. I didn't feel like dressing up today.''  
  
She kept looking out of the window looking at all the people that past the diner.  
  
J: ''You don't have to you know ?''  
  
R: ''Don't have to what ?''  
  
J: ''Dress up if you don't want to.''  
  
R: ''I know.''  
  
J: ''Really ? Do you ever wear these clothes when your boyfriend is around ?''  
  
Rory didn't say anything and kept looking out of the window.  
  
J: ''Didn't think so. Why don't you ? Are you afraid that he might not like you if you wear a pair of jeans ?''  
  
Rory bit her lip to keep from crying. She knew that it was true. She never dressed like this when she was with Aaron. The girl came back with their orders. Rory thanked her and took a sip of her coffee. She wasn't looking out of the window anymore, but she wasn't looking at Jess either. Jess paid for the coffee and the girl left again.  
  
J: ''You didn't answer my question yet ?''  
  
R: ''Which one ?''  
  
Jess could hear the soft tone in her voice. Was she ready to tell him the truth ?  
  
J: ''How about this one. Does your so called boyfriend really care about you ?''  
  
Rory curled her knees up and started to look out of the window again.  
  
J: ''Or does he only care about what you look like in those clothes that you wore last night ?''  
  
Rory put her coffee down and looked up at Jess.  
  
R: ''What do you care ? It's not your boyfriend.''  
  
J: ''I just wanna know what's going on with you lately, because the Rory that I knew wouldn't be caught dead in those clothes.''  
  
R: ''Yeah well, I changed.''  
  
J: ''Gee I didn't notice yet.''  
  
Rory wanted to get up, but Jess grabbed one of her hands and forced her to stay put.  
  
J: ''Rory.......I'm sorry.''  
  
He took a deep breath before he continued.  
  
J: ''I just wanna know what's going on with you. I wanna help you.''  
  
R: ''I appreciate it, but I don't need it. Nothing is going with me. Everything's just fine.''  
  
J: ''Don't lie to me.''  
  
R: ''Or what ?''  
  
She was on the verge of tears. Why did Jess have to ask her all those things ?  
  
Jess didn't like the way that she asked him that. He looked at her again. He saw the look in her eyes. There was something wrong with her, but he couldn't force her to tell him. He let go of her hand and immediately she got up.  
  
R: ''Thanks for the coffee.''  
  
She stormed out of the diner, leaving Jess alone and confused. He didn't know what to do anymore. He tried to ask her what was going on, but she didn't wanna answer his questions. Maybe there was really nothing wrong with her ? Or maybe she just didn't wanna tell him...........? 


	5. Happy

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey everyone!!! The next story I'm going to focus on is this one. I'm really proud of this story so far and I think that it isn't that bad to read. At least that's what I hope. I actually found the time today to write the next chapter. It is kind of short, but that's just the way it's gotta be. Anyway thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I'm really happy that people actually seem to like this story. I wasn't sure about this one, because it's a little darker and a future fic. So if you wanna make me more sure about my writing or if you just wanna make my day please review and tell me what you think of the story so far. Thanks!!!  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Rory ran up the stairs to her apartment. She knew that this would happen. He always found out. She knew that he didn't know everything yet, but eventually he would. He would keep searching until he found something. Just like today when he started about her clothes. She tried to ignore his questions, but of course that didn't work. He always had the tendency to go on about things until she would finally give in. And today she had been close to giving in and telling him about everything that had happened to her. But she wouldn't just give in without a fight. And neither would he........ Rory opened the door to the apartment and took a deep breath before she went in. She had to calm down. Jess knew nothing and there was no harm done. Not yet anyway. Besides would it be so bad if he knew about everything ? Maybe he could help her ? He always seemed to have the solutions to every problem. Rory slammed the door closed behind her and shook her head. No, she didn't want his help, she didn't want anybody's help. She was independent and she could take care of herself. Well at least that was what she kept telling herself.  
  
Lane: ''Hey.........what happened ?''  
  
R: ''Jess happened.''  
  
Rory locked the door and went into the living room. Lane followed her with a concerned look on her face.  
  
Lane: ''What really happened ?''  
  
Rory sighed and dropped herself on the couch.  
  
R: ''I bumped into him at the bookstore and he offered me coffee and I was stupid enough to say yes.''  
  
Lane: ''What's wrong with coffee ?''  
  
R: ''Everything.''  
  
Rory curled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.  
  
Lane: ''But you like coffee.''  
  
R: ''It's not the coffee, it's the person I had coffee with.''  
  
Lane: ''You mean Jess ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah.''  
  
Lane: ''I always thought you liked Jess.''  
  
R: ''I do, it's just..........you don't understand.''  
  
Lane: ''Then explain it to me.''  
  
She sat down next to Rory on the couch.  
  
R: ''He started to ask questions.''  
  
Lane: ''About what ?''  
  
R: ''About my life.''  
  
Lane: ''Did you answer him ?''  
  
Rory saw the panic that was starting to form in Lane's eyes. Rory quickly shook her head.  
  
R: ''Course not.''  
  
Rory knew that Lane was afraid that her mom would somehow find out that they were having problems paying the bills and finding jobs. Cause when Lane told her mom that she was moving to New York with Rory she had to convince her mom to let her go. If Mama Kim ever found out that Lane couldn't make it in a big city like New York she would have to move back to Stars Hollow with her mom. And that was the last thing that Lane wanted.  
  
Lane: ''Good, cause if he knew then........''  
  
R: ''He wouldn't tell your mom Lane.''  
  
Lane: ''Maybe not, but he may tell Luke and then Luke will tell your mom and before you'll know it my mom knows. She has a tendency to find things out about me.''  
  
Rory saw the panic grow in Lane's eyes.  
  
R: ''Lane, your mom won't find out.''  
  
Lane: ''I hope not, cause I'm not moving back in with her.''  
  
R: ''I didn't tell him Lane.''  
  
Lane: ''I know you didn't.''  
  
They were quiet for a while. Suddenly Rory spoke again.  
  
R: ''I wanted to though.''  
  
Lane met her eyes. She looked at Rory with sympathy and understanding.  
  
Lane: ''I know.''  
  
R: ''It's just hard you know. I mean it's Jess.''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah, it's Jess.''  
  
R: ''When he started to ask all those questions I almost........''  
  
She looked at Lane with sadness in her eyes.  
  
R: ''He said that I changed.''  
  
Lane: ''Well you did, we both did.''  
  
R: ''Yeah, but I'm not sure if it's a good thing that we changed.''  
  
Lane put her arm around Rory's shoulder.  
  
Lane: ''I'm sorry Ror.''  
  
R: ''For what ?''  
  
Lane: ''For this.''  
  
R: ''You didn't do anything. It's all my fault.''  
  
Lane: ''No it's not, it's your boss' fault.''  
  
R: ''Yeah.........''  
  
Rory started to laugh softly. It was her way of letting her fear and sadness out. She couldn't cry anymore, she was all out of tears. She hated this. Lane hugged Rory and the two girls sat there for a while. Finally Rory snapped out of it. She pulled away from Lane.  
  
Lane: ''Are you okay ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah.''  
  
Lane: ''Okay. Do you want something to eat ?''  
  
R: ''Something to eat sounds good to me.''  
  
She gave Lane a weak smile. Lane nodded and got up and went into the small kitchen to fix them something to eat. Well something that was eatable anyway.  
  
Rory got up too and walked over to the only window in the living room. She put her hands in her pocket. As soon as she did she felt the piece of paper that she had put in them this afternoon. She pulled the piece of paper out and looked at it. Suddenly a smile appeared on her face and she turned around and went into the kitchen.  
  
R: ''Lane.''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah ?''  
  
Lane turned around to face Rory.  
  
R: ''Forget about dinner.''  
  
Lane: ''Aren't you hungry ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, but we can eat at the party.''  
  
Lane: ''Party ?''  
  
Rory handed Lane the piece of paper. Lane quickly read it and looked up at Rory again.  
  
R: ''So what do you say ?''  
  
Lane: ''Are you sure ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah. We deserve to have some fun tonight, right ?''  
  
Lane started to smile too and nodded.  
  
Lane: ''You're right.''  
  
R: ''I'll call Aaron and Jared.''  
  
Lane: ''I'll go change.''  
  
Lane disappeared into her room and Rory dialed Aaron's number.  
  
A: ''Aaron speaking ?''  
  
R: ''Hey, it's me.''  
  
A: ''Rory.......hey. I'm so happy to hear from you.''  
  
R: ''You are ?''  
  
A: ''Of course. So what's up ?''  
  
R: ''Well me and Lane were wondering if you and Jared were in the mood for a party ?''  
  
A: ''A party ? At the club ?''  
  
R: ''No, at some guy's house. I have the address right here.''  
  
A: ''Sounds good to me. Me and Jared will be there in about ten.''  
  
R: ''Can't wait.''  
  
A: ''Me neither.''  
  
R: ''Bye.''  
  
Rory hung up the phone and Lane came back in to the living room dressed in a black skirt and a tight red shirt.  
  
Lane: ''So are they coming ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, they're on their way.''  
  
Lane: ''Good. Hey have you seen my black boots anywhere ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I think they're by the door.''  
  
Lane: ''Thanks.''  
  
Lane left the room to look for her boots and Rory went into her room to change. When she was dressed she looked at herself in the mirror for a second. When she saw herself she was disgusted by the clothes and the make- up that she had put on. This wasn't her. Jess was right, but this was the person that Aaron liked and she really needed Aaron right now. He was the only person that could make her forget about her problems and if these clothes made him happy she would wear them even if they didn't make her feel happy. 


	6. Pride

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey everyone!!! So here's chapter no. 6. It took a while for me to write, because I thought that it was a difficult chapter to write. So please review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks for the reviews. And I'm sure that almost everyone knew that Aaron was going to do something like this to Rory.  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
As soon as Rory entered the scene of the party she wanted to turn around and leave. She wanted to go home, to her mom and just cry. She was starting to care less and less about her pride. But instead of doing just that she followed Aaron in to the crowd of dancing people who would probably all be drunk by the end of the night. She made her way through the crowd and when she finally reached the other end of the room she took a deep breath. All these people were suffocating her with their fake smiles and their so called careless lives. She looked over at Lane who smiled at her. At least Lane seemed to be having fun. Suddenly she saw a familiar face in the crowd. He slowly made his way over to her, his eyes locked with hers. Rory looked at Lane to see if she had noticed Jess, but she was already on her way to the dance floor with Jared. Rory's eyes went back to Jess. He was getting closer and closer and he was still looking straight at her. It was as if he was searching her eyes for the answers to all his questions. Rory immediately looked away. She remembered that he was good at reading her. He used to say that her eyes showed him all her secrets. And maybe they did, but she didn't know how to put up a wall like him. Not that she really wanted to block her emotions from the rest of the world.........maybe she could put up a temporary wall. Rory looked up again and looked straight into Jess' brown eyes. He was in front of her now and if she would dare to take a step forward she would be able to reach out and touch him. Jess took another step towards her and Rory took a step back. It was too late to pretend that she hadn't seen him. Jess took another step towards her and Rory waited for one of his famous remarks, but he didn't say a thing. He just looked at her once and then walked past her. Rory let out a sigh of relief. She could feel her heart pounding and it took a while before her heart was beating at his normal rate again. She quickly looked in Jess' direction. He was leaning against the wall with a drink in his hands, looking at the crowd on the dance floor. Rory looked away and wondered if he was here because of her or if it was just a coincidence ? She was kind of hoping that it was a coincidence and is he was here because of her then too bad. She wasn't going to pay any attention to him tonight. But on the other end if he was here because of her, then it did show that he really cared about her. When she saw that Aaron was coming her way she smiled at him and pretended that everything was all right. Aaron made his way over to her and handed her a drink.  
  
A: ''Here, I got you a drink.''  
  
Rory took the drink and looked at the red fluid in the cup. For some reason she never trusted the drinks at these sort of parties.  
  
A: ''There's nothing wrong with it, trust me.''  
  
Rory quickly glanced at Jess. He was looking at her again. Rory returned her gaze to her drink and finished it in one gulp.  
  
A: ''That's my girl.''  
  
Rory smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him. Aaron quickly put down his drink and put his hands on her hips. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Rory finally broke the kiss and licked her lips.  
  
R: ''You wanna dance ?''  
  
Aaron shook his head and backed her up against the wall. He brought his head closer to hers and started to whisper something in her ear.  
  
A: ''I was kind of hoping that we could make out some more.''  
  
Aaron started to run his fingers over Rory's lips while he started to kiss her collarbone.  
  
R: ''There's always time for that later.''  
  
She gently pushed Aaron away so that she could walk past him. Suddenly Aaron grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back.  
  
A: ''What's wrong with now ?''  
  
Rory brought her lips closer to his, until their lips were only inches apart. She met his eyes and gently brushed her lips against his. Then she sweetly smiled at him.  
  
R: ''Patience.''  
  
She grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the dance floor. When they reached the dance floor she turned around to face Aaron and slowly put her arms around his neck. Aaron who couldn't resist her slid his arms around her waist. He slowly lowered his hands and rested them on her hips. Rory moved even closer. She was satisfied when she could feel Aaron's body pressing against the bare skin of her stomach. Aaron kissed her neck and slowly ran one of his hands up her back. He started to play with the cords of her halter top. He playfully tugged at one. Rory knew that he was just fooling around, but she couldn't help to feel a little bit scared. Those cords where the only thing that were keeping her halter top from dropping. She started to kiss him in the hope that he would stop playing with the cords. And he did. He lowered his hand to her hip again and pulled her even closer. When Rory started to pull away he grabbed her face with both of his hands and forced her to kiss him again. Rory didn't fight and kissed him back. When she pulled away the second time, Aaron let her. Rory rested her head on his shoulder and looked at Lane and Jared who were standing at the wall talking to each other. Just talking, nothing more. Rory wished that she could talk like that with Aaron, but all he ever wanted to do was make out. And sometimes it made Rory feel sick. A relationship shouldn't just be about making out. It should be based on love and honesty and most important you should feel safe and happy. Which she didn't right now. She felt horrible and tired. Who ever knew that faking happiness would ask so much of her ? And she missed talking to someone about books and other stuff. She glanced in Jess' direction and met his eyes. Jess........the one person that she could always talk to.  
  
Jess looked over at Rory again. It was hard to believe that Aaron could really make her happy ? He wondered if Aaron even cared about Rory ? Probably not. He saw guys like him before. He would probably use Rory until he got what he wanted from her and once he did he would just forget about her. And Jess hated that. He knew that Rory didn't deserve anything like that to happen to her. But he couldn't help her if she didn't want his help. Why couldn't she just see that all he wanted to do was to help her ?  
  
When the song was done Aaron broke apart from Rory.  
  
A: ''I'm going to get something to drink.''  
  
Rory nodded and let go of him. While Aaron made his way over to the drinks, Rory started to head for the wall. She didn't feel so well and all she wanted was to get out of this crowd. Aaron kept his eye on Rory as he made his way over to the drink and grabbed a drink. He got a small bottle out of his pocket and unscrewed the cap. He poured some of bottle's content in to Rory's drink. He put the tap back on and put the bottle back into his pocket. He grabbed the drink and started to make his way over to Rory with a grin on his face. When he reached her he handed her the drink.  
  
R: ''You didn't have to get me one.''  
  
Aaron shrugged.  
  
A: ''It was no problem.''  
  
Rory took a sip of her drink. When Rory finished her drink he took the cup from her and turned around to go get her another one.  
  
R: ''Where are you going ?''  
  
A: ''To get you another drink.''  
  
R: ''You don't have to, I'm fine.''  
  
But Aaron didn't listen to her. He got her another drink and gave it to her. Rory who was starting to feel dizzy leaned against the wall and gladly took the drink from Aaron. She finished it in one gulp. Suddenly she dropped her cup and reached for her head with both of her hands. Everything was spinning and she had this weird feeling in her stomach.  
  
A: ''Are you okay ?''  
  
R: ''I don't feel so well.''  
  
A: ''Do you want something else to drink ?''  
  
R: ''No, I wanna go lie down.''  
  
A: ''Exactly my idea.''  
  
He put his arms around her and helped her towards the stairs. He helped her up the stairs and into an empty room. Rory sat down on the bed and closed her eyes for a minute. Aaron closed the door behind him and locked it. He made his way over to the bed and sat down next to Rory.  
  
A: ''Do you feel any better ?''  
  
Rory shook her head.  
  
A: ''Maybe you should lie down.''  
  
He grabbed her by her arms and started to force her to lie down. Rory who thought that he was just looking out for her lay down on the bed. Aaron smirked and started to kiss her. He had waited long enough.  
  
R: ''Not now Aaron.''  
  
She tried to push him away, but he didn't stop kissing her. He just tightened his grip on her and got on top of her. Rory who was finally aware of what was happening started to panic and tried to pull her arms free.  
  
A: ''Just relax, this will make you feel better.''  
  
R: ''Stop it.''  
  
But Aaron just ignored her and started to kiss her again. When Rory turned her head he started to kiss the bare skin of her stomach. When he brought his hand up to her stomach Rory screamed. She started to kick with her feet. Aaron let go of one of her arms to stop her from kicking. Rory took the opportunity and pulled her other arm free too. Then she pushed him with all the force that she had and she managed to get him of off her. She quickly got up and started to run for the door. She could hear his footsteps behind him. Rory unlocked the door and pushed it open. She didn't look behind her to see if he was following her. She just ran. Suddenly she bumped into someone. She lost her balance and fell. When she reached the ground she started to cry.  
  
J: ''Rory.........what's wrong ?''  
  
Jess got down on his knees in front of her.  
  
J: ''What happened ? Why are you crying ?''  
  
Rory looked up at him while tears were streaming down her face.  
  
R: ''I.......I trusted him.''  
  
J: ''Who ?''  
  
R: ''Aaron.''  
  
J: ''Rory what happened ?''  
  
He reached for Rory's hand, but Rory quickly pulled her hand away. Jess stopped and looked at her.  
  
J: ''What happened ? What did he do ?''  
  
R: ''I don't know. I started to feel dizzy, everything was spinning and I wanted to lie down. And.......and he took me upstairs..........''  
  
Rory covered her face with her hands and cried. Her whole body was shaking.  
  
J: ''And what ? What happened ? Did he......?''  
  
Rory shook her head.  
  
R: ''No, I stopped him.''  
  
J: ''Did he hurt you ?''  
  
Rory nodded.  
  
R: ''I trusted him.''  
  
J: ''But he didn't hurt you physically ?''  
  
R: ''No.''  
  
J: ''Good.''  
  
Jess looked at Rory and felt his heart break. He was afraid that this might happen. He looked at Rory, not sure what he was supposed to do. After a while Rory looked up at him with hurt in her eyes.  
  
R: ''Can you take me home ?''  
  
Jess nodded and got up.  
  
J: ''Sure.''  
  
He helped Rory up and put his arm around her shoulders.  
  
R: ''Thank you.''  
  
Jess pulled her closer and they started to head for the stairs. Rory kept on crying. There was nothing left of her pride anymore. 


	7. Goodnight

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and this plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey!!! I know, I waited too long to update and I'm sorry for that. I apologize a hundred times. My week was just so busy and I couldn't find the time to update, but I did now. So please forgive me for not updating this long. I really hope you like this chapter, cause I stayed up until 2 in the morning finishing it. I didn't mind though, cause I really wanted to write this chapter and update. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I always like reviews, cause they let me know if my work was worth it and if people still like the story. Okay, so please hit the submit review button and tell me what you think. It doesn't have to be long, just a sign to let me know if you guys still like it. *yawn* I'm going to bed now. Night.  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Rory unlocked the door and went into the apartment. She was aware of Jess' footsteps behind her, but didn't pay too much attention to them. She didn't pay much attention to him either. She knew that he probably wanted to talk about what happened, but she didn't. She just wanted to block that part out of her memory, but alas she couldn't stop thinking about Aaron and what he tried to do to her. She was mad at him, but she was even more mad at herself. It was mostly her own fault. She had been leading him on all this time. Rory put her keys down on the dresser and looked in the mirror. She couldn't believe how much she had changed this passed couple of months. She turned in to someone that she didn't know, that she didn't want to know. When she looked in the mirror she didn't recognize herself. The person that she used to be slowly disappeared in the last couple of months. She wiped a strand of hair away from her face and looked at her reflection. She looked nothing like the old Rory. She had been blinded by her revealing clothes and by all the different colors that she had painted her face with. It was as if she had on a disguise, a disguise that became permanent after a while. Suddenly Rory knew what she wanted. She wanted the old Rory back. She was ready to take this disguise off and face her problems. She had to, she couldn't hide from them forever. Rory couldn't look at herself anymore and lowered her eyes. That was when she noticed that the light on her answering machine was flickering. She pushed on a button and listened to the message.  
  
L: ''Hey Ror, it's me. You know, your mom. How are you and Lane doing ? I just wanted to call, cause I haven't heard from you for a while and I wanted to know if everything is okay with you and Lane. I'm doing fine, thanks for asking. Things are going great actually. Believe it or not, me and Luke are going on a date tomorrow. We finally took our relationship a step further. Can you believe it ?! We're going on an actual date!!! I still don't know what I'm going to wear. I wish you were here to help me pick out an outfit, but you're not, so I guess I'll just have to do it on my own. It's a difficult task, but I gotta start picking out my own clothes someday. I think I'm going to wear my red skirt or that cute little blue dress, I don't know yet. But anyway back to you. This phone call is all about you, even tough I talk about me a lot. But what can I say, I'm just an interesting person. Okay, now what did I wanted to tell you again ?............. Oooo I have amazing news. Well maybe not amazing for you, but it is for Dean anyway. I don't exactly how to break this to you, so I'm just going to say it. Remember don't kill the messenger. Anyway Dean is getting married to Michelle. She's really sweet and Dean really seems to care about her. He......well, he loves her. I'm sorry hon, I know it's hard with him being your first boyfriend and all. If you wanna talk about it or anything for that matter, just call me, okay sweets ? Love ya, bye.''  
  
There was a loud beep when Rory deleted the message while tears were starting to form in her eyes. She couldn't believe Dean was getting married and he was going to live happily ever after with Michelle. A tear slid down her cheek and moments later she started to cry. He was happy.  
  
Just then Jess came in to the room. He glanced at Rory who was standing with her back facing him. As he came closer he saw that her body was shaking and he could hear her sobbing. He moved even closer until he was standing right behind her.  
  
J: ''Rory, are you okay ?''  
  
Rory raised her head and looked at him in the mirror. She didn't bother to wipe her tears away. He already knew that she was crying anyway. She shook her head and turned around to face him.  
  
When Jess looked into her eyes he almost expected that it would suddenly start to rain outside and that the whole world would cry with her. He wasn't used seeing her cry. He remembered her being a girl who enjoyed life and never had a care in the world. She was always optimistic about everything and she believed that you could everything if you really wanted to. She was always filled with energy and she could talk about the things that she loved for hours. And the last couple of days he didn't see the Rory that he left behind and he missed her.  
  
R: ''No.''  
  
J: ''What's wrong ?''  
  
R: ''What do you think ?''  
  
J: ''If it's about Aaron......''  
  
R: ''This is not about Aaron, not really anyway. And I had that coming.''  
  
J: ''Don't say that.''  
  
R: ''Well it's the truth. I mean just look at me. This isn't me, is it ?''  
  
J: ''Maybe not, but Aaron didn't have the right to do that......no matter how you dress.''  
  
R: ''Oh please, he's a guy.''  
  
She wiped the remains of her tears away.  
  
R: ''Even you would take advantage of a girl in that situation.''  
  
J: ''Is that what you think ?''  
  
R: ''Jess, come on, you're a guy.''  
  
Rory searched his eyes for a reaction, but she found nothing. His eyes were almost impossible to read. Finally she looked away and walked past Jess.  
  
Jess looked at Rory's reflection in the mirror as she was slowly heading towards the couch.  
  
J: ''I would never.........''  
  
Rory stopped and bit her bottom lip. She knew that he would never take advantage of anyone, but it just sort of slipped out. She turned around to face him.  
  
R: ''I'm sorry.''  
  
Jess nodded and met her eyes.  
  
J: ''So what's really going on what you ?''  
  
Rory shrugged.  
  
R: ''Same old same old.''  
  
J: ''Rory.''  
  
Rory sighed.  
  
R: ''What do you want from me Jess ?''  
  
J: ''The truth.''  
  
R: ''I hate you, you know ?''  
  
J: ''For what ?''  
  
R: ''For having this control over me, for making me tell you.''  
  
J: ''I didn't make you do anything.''  
  
Rory looked at him skeptically and crossed her arms.  
  
R: ''Fine. You wanna know why I dress like this ? You wanna know why I dated Aaron and went to clubs ?''  
  
Jess nodded.  
  
R: ''After college I applied for a job at a newspaper. It's wasn't big, but a lot of the people around here read it and I was so psyched when I got the job. I mean I have always wanted to be a journalist. And the job was great, amazing even. Until my boss started hitting on me. At first it was just flirting, but after a while he started to come on to me stronger. One night I had to stay late to finish an article and of course he was there too. He.....he tried to kiss me and I asked him to stop, cause obviously I felt uncomfortable. That was when he told me that if I didn't do as he said he would fire me and make sure that I would never work at a newspaper or magazine in New York again. Anyway he fired me and now I can't get a job. And me not having a job means that we can't pay the bills.''  
  
J: ''What about Lane ?''  
  
R: ''She got up to look for a job every day, but she stopped a couple of days ago.''  
  
J: ''Why ?''  
  
R: ''She started going to clubs with me and before I knew it she had the same problem as me.''  
  
J: ''Problem ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, see the night I got fired I went to a club and I had a couple of drinks. And since I don't drink alcohol a lot, I........''  
  
J: ''Got drunk ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah and that's when I met Aaron. He was so nice to me and he offered to drive me home.''  
  
J: ''Real nice.''  
  
R: ''During the ride home he asked me what happened, cause I was drunk and all. So I told him what happened. And apparently I gave my number to him, cause the next day I got a call from him. He wanted to go out with me, he would take me to a club. At first I said no, but when I remembered how sweet he was I said yes. So we went out, we danced and we ended up kissing. And after that we practically went out every night. I started to dress differently.........''  
  
Rory avoided Jess' eyes and wrapped her arms around her stomach.  
  
R: ''.......and the kissing got more passionate and........you get my point. During those nights was the only time when I could forget about everything. Work, paying bills, you know. I never thought that he would try something like this on me. But it was my fault.''  
  
J: ''No it wasn't. He's just a jerk who can't keep his hands to himself.''  
  
R: ''Maybe, but it was partly my fault by dressing like this.''  
  
J: ''Why didn't you tell your mom ?''  
  
R: ''Don't know, I guess I was ashamed or something.''  
  
J: ''You really should tell her.''  
  
R: ''And ruin her life with my problems ?''  
  
J: ''She'll understand Rory.''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I know.''  
  
Rory noticed that she was still standing with her arms wrapped around her stomach.  
  
R: ''I'm going to change.''  
  
Jess nodded and watched as Rory went into her room and closed the door behind her.  
  
Instead of changing Rory walked over to her bed and lay down. Moments later she fell asleep, relieved that she had told someone. And maybe now she could sleep without waking up every two hours, worrying about things.  
  
Jess went to check on her and smiled when he saw that she was already asleep. He quietly left the apartment knowing that he would be back tomorrow. 


	8. Thanks

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey everyone!!! I know this chapter is kind of short, but I had to put this chapter in the story. The next one will probably be kind of short too, but they're necessary in the story. I'm already working on the next chapter and you know what's weird ? I already finished writing the final chapter of this story. Weird huh ? Anyway thanks for the reviews and please review this chapter too. I really need some reviews to know if people still like the story.  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
The next morning Rory was woken by a knock on the door.  
  
Lane: ''Rory, are you up ?''  
  
Rory yawned and opened her eyes.  
  
R: ''Yeah, I'm up.''  
  
She couldn't believe how great she felt. This was the first time that she had actually slept the entire night. She didn't wake up once thinking about Aaron or her problems. She knew that she didn't solve them yet, but at least she told someone about them. And that was a big first step and she should have done that sooner. She had this feeling that everyone would turn out okay now that she had told Jess. Jess always made sure that everything turned out okay, no matter how bad things looked. The door opened and Lane came into the room.  
  
Lane: ''Did I wake you ?''  
  
R: ''What do you think ?''  
  
Lane: ''Sorry.''  
  
R: ''You're forgiven. So what's up ?''  
  
Lane sat down next to Rory on the bed.  
  
Lane: ''Nothing much, I just wanted to know what happened to you last night. One minute you're at the party dancing with Aaron and the next you're gone.''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I asked Jess to take me home.''  
  
Lane: ''Jess was at the party ?''  
  
Rory nodded.  
  
Lane: ''Why didn't you ask Aaron to take you home ?''  
  
R: ''Cause he's a jerk.''  
  
Lane: ''I thought you liked him ?''  
  
R: ''I did, until I found out that all he wanted was to get me into bed.''  
  
Lane: ''What happened ?''  
  
R: ''He kept giving me drinks and after a while I started to feel dizzy and he offered to help me upstairs and that's when he...........''  
  
Lane: ''O my god Rory. Are you okay ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I stopped him.''  
  
Lane: ''Thank God. Are you sure you're okay ?''  
  
R: ''I'm sure.''  
  
Lane: ''I swear if I ever see him around here again.........''  
  
R: ''You won't.''  
  
Lane: ''Good. Jerk.''  
  
Rory smiled and sat up straight.  
  
R: ''Thanks Lane.''  
  
Lane: ''No problem. So are you hungry ?''  
  
R: ''I could always eat.''  
  
Lane: ''Then breakfast will be served in the kitchen in about ten minutes.''  
  
R: ''I'll be there.''  
  
Lane got up and left the room. Rory smiled and got up to get dressed. Lane was on her way to the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. Lane went to open the door. It was Jess. He had a stack of papers in his hands and two cups of coffee.  
  
Lane: ''Jess.''  
  
J: ''Hey Lane, can I come in ?''  
  
Lane: ''Sure.''  
  
She moved aside so that Jess could come into the apartment. Then she closed the door and turned around to face him.  
  
Lane: ''Rory will be out in a minute.''  
  
J: ''I didn't........''  
  
Lane gave him a look and Jess smirked.  
  
J: ''Okay, so I still have a weak spot for Rory. Now where can I put this ?''  
  
Lane: ''On the table would probably work.''  
  
J: ''Probably.''  
  
He put the stack of papers down on the table and followed Lane into the kitchen with the coffee still in his hands.  
  
Lane: ''Thanks.''  
  
J: ''It's just coffee.''  
  
Lane rolled her eyes.  
  
Lane: ''I was talking about you looking out for Rory. She told me about what happened last night.''  
  
J: ''Aaron's a jerk.''  
  
Lane: ''Tell me about it.''  
  
Then Rory entered the kitchen. She stopped when she saw Jess.  
  
R: ''Jess.''  
  
J: ''Morning Rory.''  
  
R: ''What are you doing here ?''  
  
J: ''Well I brought coffee...........''  
  
R: ''Did you say coffee ?''  
  
Jess nodded and handed her a cup of coffee.  
  
R: ''I so love you for this.''  
  
Realizing what she said she quickly took a sip of coffee, hoping that Jess wouldn't read anything in to it.  
  
Jess smiled when he saw the smile that was slowly starting to from on Rory's lips. He had missed that sweet smile.  
  
J: ''And.........''  
  
R: ''There's more ?''  
  
J: ''Yep.''  
  
R: ''You brought donuts too ?''  
  
Lane started to laugh and moments later Rory started to laugh too. Jess just listened to the laughter of the two girls. It was like music to the ears.  
  
J: ''No, but I did bring something else.''  
  
Lane: ''You mean the newspapers ?''  
  
R: ''You brought newspapers ?''  
  
J: ''Yep. I marked all the jobs that involve the word music in them.''  
  
Lane started to smile and moments later she disappeared into the living room. Rory wanted to take a sip of her coffee, but before she could Jess took the cup out of her hands.  
  
J: ''Put on your jacket.''  
  
R: ''Why ? And I wasn't done yet.''  
  
J: ''Put on your jacket and I'll tell you on the way there.''  
  
R: ''As you wish.''  
  
She took back her coffee and went to put her jacket on.  
  
Lane: ''Where are you going ?''  
  
Rory shrugged and finished her coffee.  
  
R: ''I have no idea.''  
  
Lane: ''Hey Romeo, where are you taking Juliet ?''  
  
J: ''To sweep her off her feet. Ready ?''  
  
R: ''Guess so. Bye Lane.''  
  
Jess opened the door for Rory and waited for her to step outside. Jess closed the door behind them and they started to walk in the direction of the stairs.  
  
R: ''So, where are we going ?''  
  
J: ''To see a friend of mine.''  
  
R: ''A friend of yours ?''  
  
J: ''Yeah, he owns a big magazine here in New York and........''  
  
R: ''You didn't.''  
  
J: ''Actually I did. I arranged a job interview for you. I told him that you were really talented and he agreed to give you a chance.''  
  
R: ''But.......How........? Thanks.''  
  
J: ''You're very welcome.''  
  
R: ''I knew you would help me, you always do.''  
  
She smiled and reached for Jess' hand. A smirk appeared on Jess' face when Rory took his hand in hers. Everything seemed normal again.  
  
R: ''So about the job, do you think I actually have a chance ?''  
  
J: ''Rory, you're a great writer and I'm sure that you will get the job and not because he's my friend, but because of your writing skills.''  
  
R: ''Yeah, but what if........?''  
  
Jess sighed. Yep, everything was normal again. 


	9. More

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I onw is my imagination and this plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey!!! I said that this chapter would be short, but it actually turned out longer than the other ones. Personally this is my favorite chapter so far. I mean this chapter will make you want more. ;-) O yeah R/J action coming right up!!! Please, please review this chapter. I'm so excited about this one and I really hope that you guys are too. So review and let me know please. Thanks for the reviews, now go, READ!!! Just kidding. :-D  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Jess looked at Rory who just came out of the building. She was making her way down the steps and heading in his direction. He leaned against his car and watched her as she was heading his way. She had one hand in her back- pocket and with the other one she was trying to wipe her hair away from her face, cause the wind was making her hair dance around her face. Suddenly Jess started to smile. She still didn't look a day over eighteen. She looked just as he remembered her. Rory looked up and they locked eyes. For a moment it was as if they were still together. But he knew that they weren't together. He really did break her heart and leave her and that wouldn't change, no matter what he said or did. His smile slowly disappeared when he realized what he had given up. He had given up on Rory, an amazing girl who didn't do a thing wrong and didn't deserve that. Just the fact that she still trusted him with her problems proved how amazing she was. Rory stopped in front of him and shoved her hands in her back pockets.  
  
J: ''How did your job interview go ?''  
  
R: ''Great, he was really nice. He actually listened to me when I talked.''  
  
J: ''So, did you get the job ?''  
  
Rory removed one of her hand from her back pocket to wipe a piece of hair away from her face.  
  
R: ''What do you think ?''  
  
She looked up at him and Jess immediately saw the happy look on her face.  
  
J: ''You got the job ?''  
  
Rory nodded and smiled at him.  
  
R: ''I did. He said that he was honored to have such a talented writer as me working on his magazine.''  
  
J: ''That's great.''  
  
R: ''I know, I actually got the job !''  
  
Suddenly Rory threw her arms around Jess' neck and hugged him. Jess put his arms around her and carefully pulled her a little closer. He could feel her warm breath in his neck and he closed his eyes for a moment. It had been a while since Rory had been so close to him. He wished that he could hold her in his arms forever. But when he opened his eyes again Rory started to pull away from him. And he let go of her even though he didn't want to.  
  
R: ''Sorry about that.''  
  
J: ''Don't be.''  
  
They looked at each other for a while. Jess had looked into her eyes a million times before, but it seemed as if every time that he looked into her eyes he found something new in them. Finally they snapped out of it and Jess opened the car door for her.  
  
J: ''Are you ready to tell Lane the good news ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, she'll be so thrilled.''  
  
Rory got in the car and Jess closed the door. He walked over to the other side of the car and got in too. Moments later they were on their way back to Rory's apartment.  
  
When Rory and Jess entered the apartment they found Lane sitting on the couch with the stack of papers on her lap. When Lane noticed Rory and Jess she looked up.  
  
Lane: ''Hey, you're back.''  
  
R: ''Yep.''  
  
Lane: ''So where did he take you ?''  
  
R: ''He arranged a job interview for me.''  
  
Lane: ''He did ? You did ?''  
  
Jess nodded and leaned against the dresser.  
  
R: ''Yeah, his friend is the owner of a big magazine.''  
  
Lane: ''So did you get the job ?''  
  
Rory smiled and nodded.  
  
Lane: ''O my god, that's so great !''  
  
Lane dropped the newspapers on the floor and got up. She started to jump up and down.  
  
Lane: ''That's amazing !''  
  
Then she threw her arms around Rory and hugged her. Rory started to laugh and hugged Lane back. When Lane finally let go of Rory she walked over to Jess and hugged him too.  
  
J: ''There's a lot of hugging going down today.''  
  
But Jess smiled and quickly hugged Lane back.  
  
Lane: ''You're great !''  
  
J: ''I am, aren't I ?''  
  
He smiled and looked at Rory for a moment. Rory rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help a smile from forming on her face.  
  
Lane let go and started to jump up and down again.  
  
Lane: ''We so need to celebrate this !''  
  
R: ''I agree.''  
  
Lane: ''Pizza and movies it is !''  
  
She wanted to leave the room, but changed her mind and turned around again to face Jess.  
  
Lane: ''You're staying, right ?''  
  
J: ''Well, I didn't plan on it.''  
  
Lane: ''Please ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, please stay Jess ?''  
  
Jess met Rory's eyes and nodded. Rory could always get him to do anything.  
  
J: ''Why not. It's not like I have anything better to do.''  
  
Lane: ''Nice to know that we're not interrupting your busy schedule.''  
  
Lane rolled her eyes and started to head for the phone.  
  
Lane: ''I'm going to order the pizza.''  
  
When Lane left the room Rory looked at Jess again.  
  
R: ''Not that I'm not happy with the job and all, but how come I got it ? I mean my boss told me that I would never work at a magazine or paper in New York again.''  
  
J: ''Yeah, well Nicolas doesn't care about what your boss said and he doesn't approve that behavior either.''  
  
R: ''But isn't Nicolas going to get fired that way ?''  
  
J: ''Nope, it's his magazine. He started it with his own money.''  
  
R: ''Really ?''  
  
J: ''Yep.''  
  
R: ''So how can I ever repay you ?''  
  
J: ''I think you already did that.''  
  
Rory smiled at him.  
  
J: ''See, you're doing it again.''  
  
Rory started to blush and looked away. But her smile never left her face.  
  
Half an hour later they were sitting in the small living room enjoying the pizza and watching a movie. Jess and Rory were sitting on the couch and Lane was sitting on the floor. Rory looked at the TV with a smile on her face. It was nice to be able just to smile again without pretending that she actually was having a good time. She didn't need to pretend anymore. She actually was having fun and she didn't need to worry anymore. Things were starting to look up and she had Jess to thank for that. She glanced at him and smiled when she saw him sitting on the couch with a piece of pizza in his hands. He was still the same old reliable Jess. Even when they were just friends he would always be there for her. That's what she liked about him the most. That and his hair. She liked the fact that it was so messy. She wondered if he even combed his hair ? She used to tease him about his hair, that it looked as if he just got out of a rollercoaster. But even though she teased him about it, she wouldn't have it any other way. Suddenly the phone rang and pulled her out of her thoughts.  
  
R: ''I got it.''  
  
She got up and went to answer the phone. Lane paused the movie and took another bite of her pizza.  
  
R: ''Hello ?''  
  
D: ''Hey Ror.''  
  
R: ''Dean ?''  
  
D: ''Yeah. I left you a couple of messages, but you never called back.''  
  
R: ''Sorry about that, I was kind of going through something. I'm glad you called again though.''  
  
D: ''Me too. So how are things with you ?''  
  
R: ''Better.''  
  
D: ''Good. You can talk to me about it, you know ?''  
  
R: ''I know, but I'm doing okay now. How about you ? How are you and Michelle doing ?''  
  
D: ''Great.''  
  
R: ''I heard you two were getting married soon.''  
  
D: ''Let me guess, your mom told you ?''  
  
R: ''Good guess. So it's true ? You're really getting married ?''  
  
D: ''Yep.''  
  
R: ''That's great Dean. My mom said that she was really sweet.''  
  
D: ''She is. I think you would like her.''  
  
R: ''I can't wait to meet her.''  
  
D: ''Well, you won't have to wait that long. You and Lane are both invited to the wedding. The invitations are on the their way with the date and other details.''  
  
R: ''Thanks.''  
  
D: ''It wouldn't be a wedding without the Gilmore Girls, right ?''  
  
R: ''Right.''  
  
D: ''Well, I have to go.''  
  
R: ''Okay, tell Michelle that I'm really looking forward to meet her.''  
  
D: ''Will do. Say hi to Lane for me.''  
  
R: ''I will, bye Dean.''  
  
D: ''Bye.''  
  
Rory hung up and faced Lane and Jess with a huge grin on her face.  
  
R: ''Dean's getting married.''  
  
Lane dropped her pizza.  
  
Lane: ''He is ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I forgot to tell you. Isn't that great ?''  
  
Lane: ''It is, don't get me wrong, but I always thought that...........''  
  
R: ''Lane, me and Dean broke up a long time ago. You should remember, it was the talk of the town for a month.''  
  
Lane laughed.  
  
Lane: ''I remember and when you and Jess started to..............''  
  
Rory gave her a look and Lane immediately stopped.  
  
Jess saw the look that Rory gave Lane, but didn't say anything about it.  
  
Lane: ''So when is this wedding ?''  
  
Rory shrugged.  
  
R: ''Don't know, but the invitation is on the way and we're both invited.''  
  
Rory sat back down next to Jess and grabbed another piece of pizza. Jess pretended that he didn't care that he was sitting so close to her. And that it didn't bother him that he could feel the heat of her body against his skin.  
  
Lane: ''You what that means ?''  
  
R: ''Actually, I don't.''  
  
Lane: ''We get to shop for dresses.''  
  
Rory smiled and shook her head.  
  
R: ''Just turn the movie back on.''  
  
Lane did as she asked and the movie started again.  
  
When the movie ended Lane yawned and got up.  
  
Lane: ''I'm going to bed.''  
  
R: ''Night.''  
  
Lane: ''Night Ror, Jess.''  
  
J: ''Be sure to dream of me.''  
  
Lane: ''I would, but I don't control my nightmares.''  
  
She stuck her tongue out at Jess and went into her room. Rory smiled. Those two could never be around each other without teasing one and other. She got up and started to clean up. She started to head for the kitchen.  
  
J: ''Do you need any help ?''  
  
R: ''No, I think I can throw an empty pizza box away by myself.''  
  
She went into the kitchen. Jess got up too and made his way over to the kitchen. When he was about to go in to the kitchen he bumped into Rory. He quickly grabbed Rory's arm to steady her.  
  
J: ''Sorry.''  
  
Rory didn't answer right a way. She looked at Jess' fingers that were gently placed around her arm. Then she slowly brought her eyes up until she met his eyes.  
  
R: ''No problem.''  
  
J: ''Well I better go.''  
  
He let go of Rory and turned around to leave. Rory bit her lip. There was something that she wanted to ask Jess. It had been on her mind ever since she saw him again.  
  
R: ''Jess, do you regret it ?''  
  
Jess stopped and turned around to face her.  
  
J: ''What ?''  
  
Rory took a deep breath before she continued.  
  
R: ''Do you regret breaking up with me ?''  
  
J: ''Every day.''  
  
R: ''Then why did you ?''  
  
J: ''I thought that it was the right thing to do at the moment. I mean I was moving to New York and from my experiences long distant relationships never work out.''  
  
R: ''So you decided to just break up with me ?''  
  
J: ''I didn't mean to hurt you Rory.''  
  
R: ''Yeah, well you did. And you know what the worst part was ? I started to cry and you just walked away. You didn't even look back when I called your name.''  
  
Tears started to slide down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away.  
  
J: ''I'm sorry, I just couldn't stay.''  
  
R: ''Obviously.''  
  
J: ''Whatever. I have to go.''  
  
Jess waited for Rory to say something, but when she didn't, he turned around and headed for the door. Rory closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again she had made a decision.  
  
R: ''Jess.''  
  
Jess stopped, but didn't turn around.  
  
Rory took a couple of steps towards him.  
  
R: ''I'm sorry.''  
  
Jess still didn't turn around. Then all of a sudden Rory was standing right behind him. She grabbed his arm and made him turn around, so that he was facing her. Jess wanted to say something, but he didn't get the chance to, because Rory's lips crashed into his. Jess was surprised by her actions, but he quickly recovered and started to kiss her back. You could practically see and feel the flames and the heat between them. Jess couldn't believe how much passion he had inside of him that was waiting to get out. He pulled Rory closer and started to kiss her even harder. When Rory moaned he went crazy and accidentally bit her lip. He wanted to pull away to see if he had hurt her, but Rory wouldn't let him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. It was almost as if they hungered for each other.  
  
Rory pulled herself even closer to Jess and deepened the kiss. She wanted to be as close as possible as she could to Jess. She had missed kissing him after all these years. She had missed his touch, his lips on hers and running her hands through his hair. Finally she stopped kissing him. She needed to catch her breath. She could hear Jess breathing heavy. Her own breathing had gotten quicker too. She looked up at Jess and tried to read him, but she couldn't. She wondered if she did the wrong thing by kissing him ? What if he didn't love her anymore ? Sure he kissed her back, but she didn't really give him a choice, practically throwing herself at him and all.  
  
R: ''I'm sorry.''  
  
Jess saw the look in her eyes change and she tried to pull back from him, but he didn't let her.  
  
J: ''Don't be.''  
  
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer again. She rested her head against his chest.  
  
J: ''Do you know how long I have been waiting for this moment ?.''  
  
Rory looked up at him.  
  
J: ''Ever since I saw you again I couldn't wait to touch you again. I missed you Rory.''  
  
Rory smiled at him.  
  
R: ''I missed you too Dodger.''  
  
Jess smirked and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.  
  
J: ''I better go.''  
  
He placed a gently kiss on the tip of her nose and let go of her. He opened the door and stepped into the hallway. He brought two fingers to his lips and placed a kiss on them. Then he reached over to Rory's lips and placed his fingers on her lips. Rory smiled shyly and Jess smirked at her reaction. He looked at her once more and turned around. While he was walking to the stairs he was aware that her eyes were still on him. Right before he went down the stairs he looked at her once more. She was still standing there looking as beautiful as ever with her sparkling blue eyes and her sweet smile. Jess smiled and went down the stairs. He was leaving, but he would be back for more. 


	10. Again

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and this plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey!!! So the last chapter turned out pretty long, but alas this one is shorter. But it is sweet though. And a little sad of course. But one thing that's for sure is that things are looking up for Jess and Rory. Please review this chapter and let me know what you think. I wanna thank all the people who reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate it. THANKS!!!  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Rory had a huge grin plastered on her face as she was walking to her apartment. Today had been her first day working at the magazine and it was great. She had her own office, her boss was amazing and the people that she worked with had been really nice to her. She even had lunch with a couple of them. When Rory reached the door of the apartment she got out her keys, but was surprised to find that the door wasn't locked. Lane must have already returned from her job interview. Rory went into the apartment and closed the door behind her.  
  
R: ''Lane, I'm home !''  
  
She took of her jacket and headed towards the dresser.  
  
R: ''How did your job interview go ?!''  
  
She put her keys down and checked the machine for messages.  
  
R: ''Lane ?!''  
  
A: ''She's not here.''  
  
Rory immediately turned around when she heard his voice. Aaron was standing a couple of feet away from her with an evil grin on his face.  
  
R: ''Aaron.''  
  
Rory's heart started to beat faster and fear started to take over as he took a step towards her.  
  
A: ''Rory.''  
  
R: ''What.....what are you doing here ?''  
  
Aaron smiled and moved even closer to her.  
  
A: ''Aren't you happy to see me ?''  
  
Rory wanted to run, but she couldn't. Fear had frozen her on the spot. As he came closer she started to think of the party again. She saw him pushing her down on the bed again and she remembered how scared she was at that moment. But that didn't even come close to what she was feeling right now. Aaron was now standing right in front of her. He reached out his hand and started to stroke her cheek. As soon as she felt his hand on her cheek she realized that she had to do something. She wasn't going to let him hurt her. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the fear that was slowly trying to take control over her body. She forced herself to move and pushed Aaron away from her. Aaron was caught of guard and took a couple of steps back. Rory took the opportunity and started to run for the door. When she reached the door she wanted to open it. But before she could Aaron had already placed his hands on the door to keep her from opening it. He grabbed her arms and forced her to turn around. He pinned her to the door and brought his face closer to hers.  
  
A: ''You didn't think I would just let you go, did you ? Not after all the time that I wasted on you.''  
  
He met Rory's eyes and smirked.  
  
A: ''Don't worry, you know I'm a good kisser.''  
  
Then he brought his lips down on hers and practically devoured her. When Aaron finally stopped kissing her she wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. He licked his lips and looked at Rory again.  
  
A: ''I wonder if your sweet all over.''  
  
He grabbed her hand and started to pull her towards her bedroom.  
  
A: ''How about we go find out ?''  
  
R: ''No !''  
  
She tried to pull her hand free, but Aaron didn't let go of her.  
  
R: ''Aaron, please don't ?''  
  
Aaron looked at her and gently ran his fingers over her face.  
  
A: ''Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it.''  
  
While Aaron kept pulling her towards her bedroom, Rory started to cry. Just a couple of minutes ago she felt liked she was on top of the world and that everything was going to be all right. And now she felt like everything was falling apart again and she slowly started to lose hope........again. Suddenly she heard Lane come into the apartment. As soon as Lane saw Aaron she took a step towards the dresser.  
  
Lane: ''If you don't leave right now, I'll call the cops.''  
  
Aaron gave her a look and laughed.  
  
A: ''Sure you will.''  
  
Without saying anything Lane picked up the phone and looked at Aaron.  
  
Lane: ''So what'll it be ?''  
  
Aaron looked from Lane to Rory and back again. He clenched his teeth and let go of Rory's hand.  
  
A: ''Fine, but I will be back.''  
  
Lane: ''Actually you won't. If we ever see you around here again we'll definitely call the cops.''  
  
A: ''Fine, but it's your loss.''  
  
Aaron looked at Rory once more and left.  
  
Lane: ''Jerk.''  
  
She closed the door behind him and locked it. Then she turned around to look at Rory who was still standing at the same spot.  
  
Lane: ''Are you okay ?''  
  
She walked over to Rory and looked at her.  
  
Lane: ''Did he hurt you ?''  
  
R: ''No, you were just in time. Thanks.''  
  
Lane: ''What are friends for, right ?''  
  
R: ''Right.''  
  
Rory gave Lane a weak smile and the two girls hugged each other. Rory could feel the fear getting weaker and weaker and when they pulled apart it was almost gone. Everything was okay now, nothing happened. They would probably never see Aaron again and if they did, they would just call the cops. Yeah, everything was fine.  
  
Lane: ''Are you sure you're okay ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I'm going to take a shower.''  
  
Lane nodded and waited for Rory to leave the room. As soon as she did Lane went to the phone and dialed Jess' number.  
  
When Rory got out of the shower she quickly put on a pair of comfy sweats and an oversized shirt and went to the kitchen. Something smelled great so she thought that Lane had decided to make dinner, but to her surprise it wasn't Lane that was cooking dinner.  
  
R: ''Jess ?''  
  
Jess turned around and as soon as he saw her a smile crept on to his face. Even in clothes that were way too big for her she still looked beautiful.  
  
J: ''Hey.''  
  
R: ''What are you doing here ?''  
  
J: ''Making dinner.''  
  
R: Jess........''  
  
She looked up at him and met his eyes.  
  
J: ''Lane called me and told me what happened.''  
  
R: ''Oh..........''  
  
J: ''Are you okay ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I'm fine.''  
  
J: ''Really ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I'm still a little shaken, but other than that I'm doing fine.''  
  
Jess met her eyes for a minute to see if she really was doing okay. Rory saw what he was doing and smiled.  
  
R: ''Jess, I'm fine, trust me.''  
  
J: ''Okay.''  
  
He turned around and continued with his cooking.  
  
R: ''So where's Lane ?''  
  
J: ''On the phone with her mom.''  
  
R: ''Kidding right ?''  
  
J: ''Nope.''  
  
Rory went to look for herself. When she saw Lane sitting on the couch with the phone she smiled and went back to the kitchen. Rory walked up to Jess and threw her arms around his neck. Jess stopped with what he was doing and turned around to look at her.  
  
R: ''You're amazing.''  
  
Jess smirked at her and started to kiss one of her arms that was still around his neck. Rory ran the hand of her other arm through his hair and trembled as he placed another kiss on her arm. Jess brought his lips closer to hers and looked at her for a minute before he continued kissing the corner of her mouth.  
  
J: ''You've got it all wrong Rory Gilmore, you're the one that's amazing.''  
  
He softly kissed her on her lips. Then Jess removed her arms from his neck and went back to cooking dinner.  
  
R: ''Do you need some help ?''  
  
J: ''Since when do you cook ?''  
  
R: ''Who said I was cooking ?''  
  
J: ''Right, you can cut the tomatoes, if you think you can handle that ?''  
  
R: ''I don't know, I mean what if I cut myself with the knife ?''  
  
Jess smirked and glanced at her as she started to cut the tomatoes. He would have never imagined that after all these years they would be standing in the kitchen making dinner together.  
  
J: ''So tell me about your first day at work. How was it ?''  
  
R: ''Amazing. Everyone was really nice and............''  
  
Jess listened to Rory with a smile on his face as she went on and on about how great and amazing her first day was. 


	11. Soon

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey everyone!!! First of all I want to say that you guys are WONDERFUL!!! That's my way of thanking you guys for all the reviews. I just kept smiling while I was reading them. They really helped. So again, THANKS!!! This is a pretty long chapter and I had to put it in. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope that you guys will at least smile once when you're reading the conversation between Lorelai and Rory. O and the ending is pretty interesting. Yes, it has something to do with Jess. Please leave a review when you're done reading and let me know what you think. THANKS!!!  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
It was a rainy Saturday and both Lane and Rory were stuck in the apartment. Rory was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in her hands. She had been reading, but she decided to take a break. She took a sip of her warm coffee and looked at Lane who was lying on the floor on her stomach going through some papers looking for a job. Rory smiled and shifted her eyes from Lane to the window. She watched the rain for a while. Suddenly she put her coffee down and got up. Lane didn't look up and kept her eyes on the paper in front of her. Rory got the phone and dialed her mom's number while she went into her room. While she waited for someone to pick up, she opened the curtains so that she could see the rain. When finally her mom answered the phone, Rory smiled and sat down on her bed cross-legged.  
  
R: ''Hey mom, it's me.''  
  
L: ''Rory ?''  
  
R: ''That would be me.''  
  
L: ''Hey sweets, it's so good to hear from you. I left you a couple of messages ages ago, but you didn't call back. And the first time I thought that you were probably busy, but the second time I got worried. I started to think that something was wrong with you and after the third time I figured that you were dead.''  
  
Rory laughed. It was nice to talk to her mom again. She had really missed her wacky sense of humor and talking to her.  
  
R: ''Well, luckily for you I'm not dead.''  
  
L: ''How can I be sure ? I mean for all that I know, Lane cast some kind of resurrection spell that brought you back to life and now you're a ghost or a zombie or something.''  
  
R: ''I'm definitely not a ghost, cause if I was I wouldn't be able to hold the phone in my hands, which I am.''  
  
L: ''Or maybe Lane is holding the phone for you ?''  
  
Rory laughed again.  
  
R: ''I missed talking to you mom.''  
  
L: ''Same here hon. So, tell me about the days of your life ?''  
  
Rory laughed again and she could hear her mom laughing too.  
  
L: ''Seriously though, what took you so long to call me back ?''  
  
R: ''There were some things going on in my life.''  
  
L: ''What things ?''  
  
R: ''Do you want the short or the long version ?''  
  
L: ''Oh definitely the short version. You know me, after a while I get tired and then it's bye bye real world and hello dream world.''  
  
R: ''Nice explanation.''  
  
L: ''Thanks. And you know who's waiting for me in my dream world ?''  
  
R: ''Nope, not a clue.''  
  
L: ''Brad Pitt.''  
  
R: ''I thought you didn't like him ?''  
  
L: ''I changed my mind.''  
  
R: ''Let me guess, you rented Ocean's Eleven ?''  
  
L: ''Yep. I'll send you a pretty ribbon by mail.''  
  
R: ''Make it a nice red ribbon.''  
  
L: ''I was kind of thinking of blue, but red's fine too. But let's get back to the point shall we ? Tell me about the things that kept you from calling me.''  
  
R: ''Well first of all I got fired and lost my job.''  
  
L: ''You got fired ? Why ?''  
  
R: ''Basically cause I didn't wanna get it on with my boss.''  
  
L: ''They should lock him up or something.''  
  
R: ''Mom........''  
  
L: ''You should sue him.''  
  
R: ''Point taken.''  
  
L: ''Better yet someone should grab his paper and shove it up his........''  
  
R: ''Okay, I get the picture. Anyway I got fired and he told me that I would never work at any newspaper or magazine in New York again. Then I went to a club, got drunk, I met this guy Aaron, he tried to take advantage of me, but everything's fine now, cause Jess got me a job and Lane is looking for a job.''  
  
L: ''Did you make notes or something ?''  
  
R: ''You wanted the short version.''  
  
L: ''Okay first of all this guy, Aaron, tried to take advantage of you ? How ? Where ? Did he hurt you ? Cause if he did, I'm coming over there to test out my boxing skills.''  
  
R: ''No, he didn't hurt me. I stopped him.''  
  
L: ''How did he get you.........''  
  
R: ''In bed in the first place ?''  
  
L: ''Yeah.''  
  
R: ''He put something in my drinks, I think. Then I started to feel dizzy and he helped me upstairs.''  
  
L: ''I have so many words in my head right now that would fit this Aaron perfectly.''  
  
R: ''I bet you do, but I don't think that I wanna hear them.''  
  
L: ''Are you sure ? Cause I can teach you some new words.''  
  
R: ''I'm sure.''  
  
L: ''Okay, hold on a minute.''  
  
R: ''What are you doing ?''  
  
L: ''I'm taking a deep breath so that I won't totally freak out and lose my mind.''  
  
R: ''I never knew that you could take a deep breath and talk at the same time.''  
  
L: ''Yeah, well I can. Okay, I'm feeling relaxed again. Now did I hear you say that Jess got you a job ?''  
  
R: ''Yes you did.''  
  
L: ''In New York ?''  
  
R: ''Yep.''  
  
L: ''But I thought your boss..........''  
  
R: ''He did, but Nicolas, he's a friend of Jess, gave me the job anyway. He thought that what my boss did was wrong and besides Nicolas has his own magazine.''  
  
L: ''He does ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, and he's an amazing guy.''  
  
L: ''You know, I'm probably going to regret saying this later, but I love Jess for getting you that job.''  
  
R: ''Yeah, me too.''  
  
L: ''You love Jess ?''  
  
R: ''No, yeah, I don't know.''  
  
L: ''Something tells me that you're leaving something out.''  
  
R: ''That something's right.''  
  
L: ''Well, tell me.''  
  
R: ''Last night me and Jess sort of had this fight about him just leaving me and all.''  
  
L: ''I'm beginning to hate him again.''  
  
R: ''Don't, I started it.''  
  
L: ''The hatred is still there.''  
  
R: ''Mom.......''  
  
L: ''Fine, I love Jess. Happy ?''  
  
R: ''Mom, just listen will you ?''  
  
L: ''You're the one that keeps interrupting.''  
  
R: ''Cause I'm the one telling you about the things remember ?''  
  
L: ''Things ? What things ?''  
  
R: ''You know, the things that kept me from calling you.''  
  
L: ''O those things, right. Please continue talking, I'll just sit here with my mouth shut. Not talking, not saying a word. Just sitting here, listening to you.''  
  
R: ''Okay, so we had a fight and he was kind of mad. You couldn't see that he was mad, but I just knew, you know ? I mean I know Jess and he was mad. Anyway he wanted to leave and I stopped him by kissing him.''  
  
L: ''You stopped him by sticking your tongue in his mouth ?''  
  
R: ''Mom ! That's so gross !''  
  
L: ''Hey, you're the one that.......''  
  
R: ''I know, but you make it sound gross.''  
  
L: ''I am ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, and it wasn't. It was an amazing kiss, so full of passion and he........''  
  
L: ''Okay, stop right there. Now you know that you can talk to me about anything, but right there I draw the line. I'm not going to discuss the kisses that you and Jess shared with you.''  
  
R: ''Why not ?''  
  
L: ''Cause I'm your mom and you're my little girl.''  
  
R: ''I'm not a little girl anymore.''  
  
L: ''Obviously.''  
  
R: ''You don't hate me now, do you ?''  
  
L: ''Hate you ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, for kissing Jess ?''  
  
L: ''Of course not sweetie. I hate Jess, but you ? No.''  
  
R: ''Mom.''  
  
L: ''What ?''  
  
R: ''How can you still hate him ? If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have a job right now.''  
  
Rory could hear Lorelai sigh on the other end of the line.  
  
L: ''You two are together again, aren't you ?''  
  
R: ''That depends. Will you like him better if we are ?''  
  
L: ''I might.''  
  
R: ''Then we are together, I guess. I'm not sure. We haven't talked about it yet.''  
  
L: ''I hate to say this, but I knew that one day you guys would see each other again and fall in love all over again.''  
  
R: ''You did ?''  
  
L: ''Yeah, but I'm not happy about it.''  
  
Rory smiled.  
  
R: ''I miss you mom.''  
  
L: ''I miss myself too.''  
  
R: ''Wow, you're ego did grow while I was gone.''  
  
Lorelai laughed.  
  
L: ''I missed you too sweets. And I can't wait to see you again.''  
  
R: ''Me neither. I promise that I'll visit you as soon as I can.''  
  
Just at that moment Lane came into the room with a small envelope in her hand.  
  
Lane: ''Rory, it's here.''  
  
R: ''Hold on for a minute mom.''  
  
Rory put her hand on the phone and turned her head to look at Lane.  
  
R: ''What's here ?''  
  
Lane: ''The invitation to Dean's wedding. It's in two weeks and it's in Stars Hollow.''  
  
Rory removed her hand from the phone to talk to her mom again.  
  
R: ''Looks like I'll be visiting you in two weeks.''  
  
L: ''Two weeks ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, Dean's wedding is in two weeks.''  
  
L: ''O yeah, I forgot. He's marrying Michelle in Stars Hollow.''  
  
R: ''Exactly. I have to hang up now, but I'll see you soon.''  
  
L: ''In two weeks.''  
  
R: ''Two weeks, bye mom.''  
  
L: ''Love ya sweets.''  
  
Rory hung up and got up from the bed.  
  
Lane: ''How's your mom doing ?''  
  
R: ''Fine, she can't wait for me to visit.''  
  
Lane: ''I can't wait to visit either. I talked to my mom for a while and I realized that I do miss her, even though I probably will never admit it to her.''  
  
Rory put her arm around Lane's shoulder and smiled.  
  
R: ''I'm sure she misses you too.''  
  
Lane smiled and the two girls went back to the living room.  
  
Lane: ''We get to bring dates.''  
  
R: ''Dates ?''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah, to the wedding.''  
  
R: ''Oh.''  
  
Lane: ''So ?''  
  
R: ''So what ?''  
  
Lane: ''Are you taking Jess to the wedding ?''  
  
Rory shrugged.  
  
R: ''Don't know.''  
  
Lane: ''You should.''  
  
R: ''I should ?''  
  
Lane: ''Uhuh, you two will be the cutest couple there.''  
  
R: ''No, Dean and Michelle will be the cutest couple there.''  
  
Lane: ''Is that jealousy I sense ?''  
  
R: ''A little, but I'll get over it. I mean Dean's getting married, he has Michelle now.''  
  
Lane: ''Right, and you have Jess.''  
  
Rory smiled and looked at Lane again.  
  
R: ''You really think I should ask him ?''  
  
Lane: ''Yep.''  
  
R: ''Okay, I'll ask him.''  
  
Rory sat down on the couch and wanted to take a sip of her cold coffee, but stopped when she saw Lane giving her a look.  
  
R: ''What ?''  
  
Lane: ''You wanted to ask him, right ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I'll call him later.''  
  
Lane: ''No, now.''  
  
R: ''Now ?''  
  
Lane: ''Yep and you're not going to call him either.''  
  
Lane grabbed Rory's hand and pulled her off of the couch.  
  
R: ''I'm not ?''  
  
Lane: ''Nope, you're going to ask him in person.''  
  
Lane handed Rory her jacket and pushed her in the direction of the door.  
  
R: ''But I don't even have his address.''  
  
Lane stopped pushing Rory and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. She quickly wrote an address down and handed the piece of paper to Rory.  
  
Lane: ''Now you do.''  
  
R: ''But what if I can't find it ?''  
  
Lane: ''You will.''  
  
R: ''But.........''  
  
Lane: ''No ifs ands or buts, you're going over to his apartment and asking him to the wedding.''  
  
Rory threw her hands up in surrender and let Lane push her into the hallway.  
  
Lane: ''O and when you get home I want all the details.''  
  
Then she closed the door. Rory looked at the closed door for a minute. Finally she started to head in the direction of the stairs. Sometimes Lane was a pain in the but, but most of the time she was an amazing friend. And Rory wouldn't have it any other way. 


	12. Girlfriend

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey!!! Next chapter's up. It's kind of short, but still worth it. It has some R/J action, so I hope you guys like it. O and the ending is pretty sweet. Again I wanna thank everyone who left a review. I LOVE YOU!!! I'm really grateful. So THANKS AGAIN!!! Please leave review this chapter too. This is a really important chapter in the story and I wanna know what you guys think of it.  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
Rory looked at the address that Lane had written down and sighed. She was standing in front of the building where Jess lived. She put the piece of paper back in her pocket and took a deep breath before she pushed the door open and made her way up the stairs. With every step that she took she got even more nervous. Which was weird, cause this was Jess and she didn't have to be nervous. She went through this before, a couple of years ago. She figured that the second time would be easier than the first time, but it wasn't. She was just as nervous as the first time that she admitted her true feelings for him. Rory shook her head and smiled as she reached the top of the stairs. Unbelievable that one guy could make her feel like this. She searched the hallway looking for the number of Jess' apartment. When she found it she slowly started to walk towards it. Suddenly the door opened and a girl came out of the apartment. Jess soon followed. Rory stopped and watched as Jess and the girl started to talk. She couldn't hear what they were talking about. After a while they stopped talking and they just stared at each other. Then Jess reached out his hand and touched the girls face. Rory gasped and took a step back. It was like a breeze hit her heart and was trying to blow it into a million pieces. But she wasn't going to let that happen, not again. She should have figured that Jess would already have a girlfriend. After all these years had she really expected him not to move on ? Rory lowered her eyes. Actually she had hoped that he didn't have a girlfriend. She looked at Jess and the girl again. She saw the way Jess looked at the girl as she stepped into the elevator. A long time ago he looked at her that way. She had to get out of her. If she would stay here any longer she would start crying. Rory turned around and started to head towards the stairs. Slowly tears started to run down her cheeks.  
  
Jess was just about to go back into his apartment when he noticed Rory. When he saw that she was walking away from him, he took a step in her direction.  
  
J: ''Rory !''  
  
When she didn't turn around, he started to run to catch up with her.  
  
J: ''Rory, wait.''  
  
He grabbed her arm and forced her to stop walking. Rory immediately pulled her arm free and wanted to head down the stairs, but Jess grabbed her arm again. This time he forced her to turn around. When he saw the tears in her eyes he remembered the day on the bridge. It was a bright and sunny day, but for the two of them it could have just as well been raining. He broke up with her and just left her standing there, tears still running down her face. And the next day he left without telling her. All she knew was that he was moving to New York. That day he thought that he had lost her, but he didn't. Cause a couple of years later they would meet in New York. This time he wouldn't leave her.  
  
J: ''What's wrong ?''  
  
Rory met his eyes and suddenly Jess was scared. He was scared by the look in her eyes. He had never seen it before. Her gaze was cold as ice. He saw sadness in them, but that wasn't what scared him. What scared him was the anger that he saw in them. As if he had hurt her in the worst way possible.  
  
J: ''Rory, what did I do ?''  
  
R: ''You should have told me that you had a girlfriend.''  
  
There it was out. Rory lowered her eyes and waited for his reaction. She was hoping that he would tell her that it was just someone he worked with, but somehow she knew that that wasn't the case. The way Jess looked at the girl told her that she really meant something to him.  
  
J: ''Rory.........''  
  
Rory looked up at him and searched his eyes looking for the words that were going to come. But of course she didn't find anything. Somehow Jess always managed to shield his emotions from the rest of the world, even from her. Sometimes she wished that she could do the same.  
  
R: ''I should go. I just wished that you had told me earlier that you had a girlfriend.''  
  
J: ''Rory......''  
  
R: ''What ?''  
  
J: ''We need to talk. Let me explain.''  
  
He let go of Rory and hoped that she wouldn't run off.  
  
J: ''Please ?''  
  
Rory nodded and followed him to his apartment. When they were inside Jess closed the door behind him and looked at Rory again. Rory had her arms crossed and was looking straight at him, waiting for an answer to her question.  
  
R: ''Was she your gilrfriend ?''  
  
Jess didn't answer.  
  
R: ''Jess ?''  
  
Finally Jess nodded.  
  
J: ''Yeah.''  
  
R: ''I can't believe you didn't tell me.''  
  
She wanted to leave, but Jess was blocking the door.  
  
J: ''What were you expecting from me Rory ?''  
  
R: ''Apparently nothing.''  
  
J: ''Rory......''  
  
He took a step towards her, but as soon as he did, Rory took a step back.  
  
R: ''You could have told me that you were seeing her.''  
  
J: ''Her name is Tiffany.''  
  
R: ''Well, now I feel a whole lot better.''  
  
J: ''And I do care about her a lot and I used to love her.........until I saw you again.''  
  
Rory's head shot up and she met his gaze.  
  
J: ''I broke up with her. I broke up with her, for you. For you Rory.''  
  
He took another step towards and this time Rory didn't back away.  
  
R: ''Why did you wait so long ?''  
  
J: ''Cause I wanted to be sure that you still had feelings for me. I didn't wanna hurt Tiffany unless I was really sure.''  
  
They were now standing face to face.  
  
R: ''What makes you so sure that I still have feelings for you ?''  
  
Rory couldn't help a smile from appearing on her face. She had been wrong. Even though Jess had a girlfriend he still had been waiting for her. Jess leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Rory's smile got bigger and lit up her eyes. Jess smirked and kissed her again. He gently grabbed her and pulled her closer. This time Rory kissed him back. When they broke the kiss Rory looked up at him, her eyes filled with happiness.  
  
R: ''Does this mean that we're together now ?''  
  
J: ''We were always together.''  
  
Rory slightly smiled and touched his cheek.  
  
R: ''So are you coming to Dean's wedding with me ?''  
  
J: ''If you want me to.''  
  
R: ''I want you to.''  
  
J: ''Then we'll go to the wedding.''  
  
Jess grabbed her hand and started to kiss her fingertips.  
  
R: ''I better get home and tell Lane.''  
  
She gave Jess a quick kiss and wanted to pull away, but he wouldn't let her go. Instead he pulled her even closer and kissed her. Rory placed one of her hands on his shoulder and the other one she started to run through his hair. Finally they broke apart. Rory ran her hands through Jess' hair one more time.  
  
R: ''I'm glad you didn't cut your hair or anything.''  
  
J: ''Why ?''  
  
R: ''Cause I like your crazy hair.''  
  
Jess smiled a genuine smile at the memory of the carnival.  
  
R: ''Night Jess.''  
  
Then Rory opened the door and left.  
  
Back at the apartment Rory immediately went to Lane's room. When she saw Lane was sleeping she smiled and walked over to the bed. Then she grabbed a pillow and hit Lane with it.  
  
R: ''Wake up.''  
  
Lane slowly opened her eyes and moaned.  
  
Lane: ''What ?''  
  
R: ''I just wanted to let you know that I asked Jess to the wedding and he said yes.''  
  
Lane: ''You had to wake me for that ?''  
  
R: ''Well, yeah. You're my best friend, I had to tell someone.''  
  
Lane: ''Get another best friend.''  
  
Rory hit Lane again with the pillow and laughed.  
  
Lane: ''Would you stop hitting me with the freaking pillow.''  
  
R: ''Nope.''  
  
Rory lifted the pillow and wanted to hit Lane again, but this time Lane avoided it. She quickly grabbed a pillow and threw it at Rory.  
  
R: ''Missed me.''  
  
Lane got out of bed and got the pillow.  
  
Lane: ''I guess sleeping is out of the question.''  
  
She turned around and threw the pillow at Rory. Rory laughed and avoided it. Moments later the two girls were both standing on the bed, hitting each other with pillows. They were having fun, something that they didn't have in a long time. 


	13. Perfect

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: Hey everyone!!! Sorry for not updating yesterday, but I didn't have the time. I hope this chapter makes up for that though. And yes this is also the LAST chapter of this story. All I have to say is THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the WONDERFUL reviews and on to the next story!!! :-) Please make my day and review this last chapter too. Thanks and I hope everyone enjoyed the story.  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
R: ''We're gonna be late.''  
  
Rory checked her watch again. When she saw that they only had a couple of more minutes until the wedding, she started to tap her fingers against the window.  
  
Lane: ''We're not going to be late, we're already in Stars Hollow. And could you please stop tapping ? You're making me nervous.''  
  
R: ''Nervous ? Why ?''  
  
She stopped tapping and clasped her hands together.  
  
Lane: ''You know, seeing my mom again.''  
  
J: ''And the entire town.''  
  
Lane: ''O my God, I totally forgot about that. I changed my mind, I don't wanna go to the wedding.''  
  
R: ''Lane, everything's going to be fine. You're going to have a great time.''  
  
J: ''While the whole town is watching you.''  
  
R: ''Jess.''  
  
Rory gave him a look, but couldn't help a smile from appearing on her face.  
  
R: ''The whole town isn't going to be watching you.''  
  
Lane: ''How do you know ?''  
  
R: ''Hello, wedding, remember ? All eyes are going to be on the bride and groom.''  
  
Jess quickly glanced at Rory and returned his eyes to the road in front of him. He would have never imagined that he would be going to a wedding with Rory. To Dean's wedding no less. He wondered how Rory really felt about Dean getting married ? She told Dean that it was great, but he doubted it that she really thought that it was great. Somewhere there had to be some jealousy hiding inside of her. And he couldn't blame her. Dean had been her first boyfriend after all. And besides she was only human.  
  
Lane: ''You're right, I'm overreacting.''  
  
R: ''Yes you are. You can worry about people watching you when you get married.''  
  
Lane: ''I'm never getting married.''  
  
R: ''Me neither.''  
  
Lane: ''Yes you will. You're going to wear a beautiful dress and you're going to have your dream wedding.''  
  
R: ''Maybe, but in the meantime let's focus on this dream wedding. We're so going to be late.''  
  
Lane: ''Would you stop worrying. We're going to get there on time.''  
  
R: ''I can't help it. I don't wanna miss Dean's big day.''  
  
Lane: ''And you're not going to.''  
  
R: ''You're right.''  
  
Lane: ''So are you going to close your eyes when Dean gets to kiss the bride ?''  
  
R: ''Lane.''  
  
Lane: ''What ? He was your boyfriend, so it's okay if you feel sad.''  
  
R: ''He was and I don't.''  
  
Lane: ''Well, feel something. I mean you're not nervous, not sad, not anything.''  
  
R: ''I'm happy.''  
  
Lane: ''You're really happy that Dean and Michelle are getting married ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, and I'm happy about the fact that we're finally here.''  
  
Jess parked the car and they all got out of the car. They started to make their way to the gazebo, where the wedding was being held. Jess was leading the way, while the two girls were walking a few steps behind him.  
  
Lane: ''I can't believe we had to wear dresses.''  
  
R: ''Lane, it's a wedding.''  
  
Lane: ''I know, but there's no rule that says that you have to wear a dress.''  
  
R: ''It's an unwritten rule.''  
  
Lane: ''Well, isn't there a rule that says that the guys have to wear suits or something ?''  
  
R: ''Kind of, yeah.''  
  
Lane: ''Then how come Jess is wearing that ?''  
  
Rory looked at Jess and smiled. A pair of black jeans, a white blouse and messy hair. And she wouldn't have it any other way.  
  
R: ''Because that's just Jess.''  
  
Lane: ''Well I'm just Lane.''  
  
R: ''Come on Lane, it's not that bad. It's only for one day.''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah, guess so. Besides we do look gorgeous.''  
  
Rory laughed and nodded.  
  
R: ''Yes we do. So, are you ready ?''  
  
Lane: ''Yeah, I can't go back now.''  
  
R: ''That's the Lane I know and love.''  
  
Lane: ''No, the Lane you know and love would have worn pants instead of this.''  
  
R: ''Remember the part of this conversation where you said that we looked gorgeous ?''  
  
Lane nodded.  
  
R: ''Keep thinking of that.''  
  
They reached the part where the wedding was being held. There were about a hundred chairs placed in front of the gazebo. Fifty on each side of the aisle, that was decorated with white rosepeddles. The pastor was already standing in the gazebo that was decorated with white roses. Most of the people were already sitting on the chairs, anxiously waiting for the moment when the bride would appear on the end of the aisle. Rory scanned the small crowd of people, looking for her mom. Finally she found her. She was sitting next to Luke, waving at her with a huge grin on her face.  
  
R: ''There's my mom. Come on.''  
  
She linked arms with Lane and started to walk over to her mom. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Jess was following them. As soon as they reached Luke and Lorelai, Lorelai got up and hugged the two girls. When she let go of them she noticed Jess.  
  
L: ''Jess, hey.''  
  
J: ''Lorelai.''  
  
He said it with a smirk playing on his lips. Lorelai looked at him and started to smile too.  
  
L: ''Nice to see you again Jess.''  
  
She took a step towards him and quickly hugged him.  
  
L: ''I didn't know you were coming. I only reserved two seats.''  
  
R: ''Mom.''  
  
L: ''Just kidding. Actually Lane, you're mom reserved a seat for you.''  
  
Lane: ''She did ?''  
  
L: ''Yep, she sitting on the other end of the aisle.''  
  
Lorelai pointed at Lane's mom.  
  
Lane: ''Well, I better go. See you guys after the whole ceremony thing.''  
  
R: ''Bye.''  
  
Lane waved and started to head over to her mom. Lorelai sat down next to Luke again.  
  
R: ''Hey Luke.''  
  
She gave Luke a warm smile before she sat down next to her mom.  
  
Luke: ''Hey Rory. You look beautiful.''  
  
R: ''Thanks.''  
  
Jess sat down next to Rory and nodded at Luke.  
  
J: ''Luke.''  
  
Luke: ''Jess. Glad you could make it.''  
  
J: ''You know me, I wouldn't miss bag b.......I mean Dean's wedding for anything in the world.''  
  
R: ''I sort of made him come.''  
  
L: ''I did the same with Luke.''  
  
Luke: ''She did.''  
  
J: ''Women.''  
  
Luke: ''Go figure.''  
  
L: ''What's that supposed to mean ?''  
  
Rory smiled when Luke and her mom started to argue. She was glad that some things never changed. She ignored them and looked in the direction of the gazebo. Suddenly her eyes met a pair of eyes that she was very familiar with. She remembered exactly what they looked like, even though she hadn't gazed in to them for almost eight years. Dean...... They hadn't seen each other in those eight years. They had talked a lot on the phone. She put a fake smile on her face and smiled at him. When she saw him again all her old feelings came back to the surface again, just for a minute though. But in that minute she relived all the magical moments between them. Then she remembered what she had with Jess. All the kisses and touches that they had shared together. And without knowing it she started to compare the time that she had shared with Dean to the time that she had shared with Jess. As soon as she did she realized that what she had with Dean didn't even come close to what she and Jess had right now. Rory's fake smile turned into a genuine one. She was truly happy with Dean, with all of her heart. Dean smiled at her, but stopped when the music started to play. Suddenly everyone stopped talking and turned around to look at the bride. Rory did too. As soon as she saw they way Michelle and Dean looked at each other, she knew that they were deeply in love. And that was great. Rory reached for Jess' hand and placed her hand in his. When she felt Jess' hand close around hers, she smiled. She rested her head against his shoulder and looked at Michelle as she was making her way towards Dean. Jess kissed Rory's hair and did the same.  
  
After the ceremony, Dean took Michelle's hand and lead her to the dance floor. Everyone watched as they took their first dance together as husband and wife. They only had eyes for each other and for them this would be one of the most memorable days of their lives.  
  
Lorelai, Luke, Lane, Rory and Jess were standing at the table with all the delicious food that Sookie had prepared, looking at the happily married couple.  
  
L: ''I want that one day.''  
  
R: ''You already had that.''  
  
L: ''Yeah, but I want that again. When I meet the right guy, I'm going to have a wedding just like this.''  
  
R: ''Say the time and place and I'll be there.''  
  
Lane: ''Me too, but only if I'm allowed to wear pants.''  
  
L: ''What ?''  
  
R: ''Never mind her. Don't they look great together ?''  
  
L: ''They do.''  
  
Luke: ''Just a Kodak moment.''  
  
J: ''Too bad I forgot my camera.''  
  
Lorelai shook her head and took Luke's hand.  
  
Luke: ''What are you doing ?''  
  
L: ''We're going to dance.''  
  
Luke: ''Ah man, do I have to ?''  
  
Lorelai ignored him and pulled him towards the dance floor. Moments later the two were dancing and staring in each other's eyes, lost in each other's presence.  
  
Lane: ''Now they look great together.''  
  
R: ''I agree. Don't you Jess ?''  
  
J: ''No.''  
  
R: ''Jess.''  
  
J: ''What ? He's my uncle and she's your mom.''  
  
R: ''So ?''  
  
J: ''No, that's..........No, I refuse to think of them like that. Ain't going to happen.''  
  
R: ''Is that going to be your speech at their wedding ?''  
  
J: ''Basically, yeah.''  
  
Rory smiled and looked at Luke and her mom again.  
  
Lane: ''So, you wanna dance ?''  
  
R: ''Sure.''  
  
Lane: ''You don't mind, do you Jess ?''  
  
J: ''Go ahead, but no kissing.''  
  
Lane rolled her eyes.  
  
Lane: ''I'll take good care of her.''  
  
R: ''Be right back.''  
  
She let go of Jess' hand and followed Lane to the dance floor. Jess watched Rory dance with a grin on his face. She could get so caught up in dancing and completely lose herself in the music.  
  
A slow song came on and Rory and Lane were just about to leave the dance floor when a familiar figure caught Lane's attention.  
  
Lane: ''Dave ?''  
  
Dave turned around and smiled when he saw Lane.  
  
Dave: ''Hey Lane, Rory.''  
  
Rory nodded and smiled when Lane practically threw herself at Dave. She turned around and went back to Jess. They probably wanted to be alone.  
  
J: ''Hey, done already ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, I think Lane would rather dance with Dave.''  
  
J: ''Probably. And it's better this way.''  
  
R: ''It is ?''  
  
J: ''Yeah, cause I don't think I could handle seeing you and Lane dance to a slow song together.''  
  
R: ''Jealous ?''  
  
J: ''Of Lane ? Always.''  
  
Rory smiled slightly and met Jess' eyes.  
  
R: ''So I was wondering if maybe you would wanna dance with me ? I mean I know you don't like to dance, but.......''  
  
J: ''I'll dance with you.''  
  
R: ''You will ?''  
  
J: ''Yeah. If Luke can I can, right ?''  
  
R: ''Good point.''  
  
Jess took her hand in his and lead her to the dance floor. When they got on the floor, Jess put his arms around her waist. Rory put her arms around his neck and started to play with his hair. Jess pulled her a little closer and looked at her as she looked around the dance floor with sparkling eyes. He smirked without her noticing and looked at his girlfriend again as she took in everything and everyone around her. Every now and then she would smile and her eyes would sparkle even more than they already did. He still found it amazing that such little things could make her smile. At first he thought that it was ridiculous, but after a while he got used to it and started to smile at little things too. He learned to appreciate them. Like now. This moment right now, was worth a million smiles. Rory was worth all those smiles. Finally she looked at him again.  
  
R: ''It was a beautiful wedding, wasn't it ?''  
  
J: ''Yes it was.''  
  
R: ''They look happy, Dean and Michelle.''  
  
J: ''They do. But what about you ?''  
  
R: ''What about me ?''  
  
J: ''Are you happy ?''  
  
R: ''Definitely.''  
  
J: ''Good.''  
  
He softly kissed her on her lips and just held her until the song came to an end. Rory spotted Dean and Michelle and walked over to them. Jess slowly followed.  
  
R: ''Hey.''  
  
D: ''Rory, I'm glad you made it.''  
  
Rory took a step towards Dean and quickly hugged him.  
  
R: ''Are you kidding ? I wouldn't wanna miss your big day.''  
  
She smiled at Dean and then looked at Michelle.  
  
R: ''Hey, I'm Rory.''  
  
M: ''Michelle, nice to finally meet you.''  
  
R: ''Same here, you looked amazing.''  
  
M: ''I did ?''  
  
R: ''Yeah, just like in a movie.''  
  
M: ''Not My Best Friend's Wedding, I hope.''  
  
Rory laughed. Her mom was right. Michelle was sweet.  
  
D: ''Glad you two are getting along.''  
  
R: ''Why ?''  
  
M: ''Yeah, didn't think that your ex and your wife could get along ?''  
  
R: ''Where's the faith ?''  
  
D: ''I'm going to get us some wine, you want any Rory ?''  
  
R: ''No, I don't drink......anymore.''  
  
Dean gave her a look and Rory held back a grin.  
  
R: ''Not important.''  
  
D: ''If you say so. How about you Jess ? Wine ?''  
  
J: ''No, thanks.''  
  
Dean shrugged and went to get the wine.  
  
J: ''I'm going to see if I can find you some coffee.''  
  
He nodded at Michelle and left the two girls alone for a minute.  
  
M: ''So, who's that ?''  
  
R: ''Oh, that's Jess.''  
  
M: ''Is he your......?''  
  
R: ''Date ? Yeah.''  
  
M: ''Are you two serious ?''  
  
R: ''Sure seems like it.''  
  
M: ''Well, I know I'm not supposed to say this since I'm married and all, but he's cute.''  
  
R: ''Looks like we have good taste.''  
  
Michelle laughed and moments later Rory started to laugh too. Dean came back and handed Michelle a glass of wine. Jess joined them too and gave Rory a cup of coffee. Rory gratefully took it and took a sip.  
  
J: ''Did we miss something ?''  
  
M: ''Nah.''  
  
R: ''Just some girltalk.''  
  
Rory and Michelle shared a secret smile and both took a sip of their drinks. When Michelle finished her drink, she gave Dean the glass end grabbed her bouquet. She got on a chair and yelled that it was time to throw the bouquet. Almost immediately all the women at the wedding came together and surrounded Michelle. Before Rory could do anything about it, Lorelai grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the crowd of women. She picked up Lane on the way and moments later the three girls were standing in the middle of the crowd.  
  
M: ''Ready ?!''  
  
A couple of women said yes and Michelle threw the bouquet. To everyone's surprise Rory caught it. She looked at the beautiful bouquet of white roses. They were her favorite. She took in the scent of the flowers and smiled. She looked up and found Jess' eyes. He smirked at her and she thought that he slightly nodded as if he was saying yes to the unasked question in her heart. But she was probably imagining things. She couldn't help but wonder though. Was catching the bouquet just another tradition or did it really mean that she was next in line to get married ? Cause she could live with that. She could live with being Mrs. Mariano for the rest of her life. 


End file.
